
An Economical Household, not a Stingy One, makes a 
Successful and Contented Home. 

— Freeman. 




HOME ECONOMIST, 

. A . 

MANUAL FOR THE PEOPLE. 



Especially Adapted to the Every-Day Wants of 
American Homes. 



EMBRACING 



THIRTEEN HUNDRED TESTED AND APPROVED RECEIPTS FOR THE 

KITCHEN; CONTRIBUTED BY OVER ONE HUNDRED OF 

OUR MOST SUCCESSFUL AMERIC>C>5 WOMEN. 



Receipts for the Care of Furniture ; How to Destroy House Pests ; Special In- 
structions for the Care-of the Kitchen and Kitchen Utensils; The Laundry 
and numerous Receipts for Cleaning of Silks, Woolens, Laces, 
Ribbons, Curtains, Etc. ; The Sewing Room and its 
Conveniences; Receipts for Dyeing and Color- 
ing all Shades and Colors; Numerous 
Miscellaneous Receipts of 

all Sorts. ;,^ 

ALSO, COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SICK ROOM; HEALTH ITEMS AND """^ vsV 
GRAND MOTHERS' MEDICAL RECEIPTS. CARE AND CULTURE 
OF CHILDREN AND FOOD FOR THE SICK, Etc., Etc. 



PUBLISHED BY 

F. B. DICKERSON COMPANY, 

DETROIT, MICH. 



- - ^ 



^^\%cy 



A 



/ 



1^\^ 



</ 



1>^ 





Great fttasses of Home-]VIakePs 



This Book is Hespeetfally Dedicated, 



DEPARTMENTS. 



Bread, '7 

Breakfast and Tea Cakes, 18 

Cake, 43 

Cookies, Jumbles and Snaps, '^'^ 

Creams and Custards 82 

Confectionery 92 

Catsups, 100 

Desserts, 103 

Drinks, 140 

Eggs and Omelettes, 149 

Fresh Fruits, 155 

Canning Fruits, 159 

Ices and Ice Cream, 163 

Jams and Jellies, 174 

Mushrooms, 184 

Pickles, 190 

Preserves, .... 204 

Vegetables, 212 

Fish 242 

Shell Fish, 251 

Game, 264 

Marketing 271 

Meats, . ... 277 

Poultry 308 

Salads , 324 

Soups, Sauces and Forcemeats, 331 

Furniture 354 

House Pests, .... 358 

Toilet, 362 

Kitchen, 367 

The Laundry, 373 

Sewing Room, . . , , . 384 

Dyeing, Etc 388 

Odds and Ends, 398 

The Sick Room 425 

Health Items and Grandmothers' Medical Recipes, . 432 

Care and Culture of Children, 446 



PUBLISHER'S PREFACE. 




N the preparation of this work our aim has been 
not only to make it full and complete, but to 
give such information as is adapted to the common 
homes of our land; to make it clear and concise; 
and to so arrange its contents that any subject 
sought for can be easily and quickly found. Our object is to 
assist in making the management of the home both successful 
and economical, and especially so in regard to cookery. Bad 
cooking is waste — waste of money and loss of comfort. How to 
cook is one of the most essential, and yet most neglected branches 
of female education. 

The receipts in the cooking department have been contributed 
by over one hundred of our most successful women, and only 
those are given which have stood the test of actual use, and 
received the indorsement of the best housekeepers, and all of 
them can be depended upon as being reliable. 

The home is woman's realm, and it is certainly of supreme 
importance that she should know how to govern it. If she 
knows nothing of her kitchen and is at the mercy of the cook, 
the table will soon become intolerable — bad bread, soft and 
flabby fish, meat burned outside and raw within — a condition of 
things conducive neither to good health or domestic concord. 
In short, we want common sense in cookery as in most other 
things. Food should be used, not abused; much of it is now 
absolutely wasted; wasted for want of a little art in cooking it. 

PUBLISHERS. 



A NEW RECIPE. 




NE of the lecturers before the Baltimore Cooking- 
School recently gave this recipe for cooking 
husbands, which, it is safe to say, has never 
appeared in any book on cookery: 

A good many husbands are utterly spoiled by 
mismanagement. Some women go about as if 
their husbands were bladders, and blow them up. Others keep 
them constantly in hot water. Others let them freeze by their 
carelessness and indifference. Some keep them in a stew by 
irritating ways and words. Others roast them. Some keep them 
in a pickle all their lives. It cannot be supposed that any 
husband will be tender and good, managed in this way; but they 
are really delicious when properly treated. 

In selecting your husband, you should not be guided by the 
silvery appearance, as in buying mackerel, nor by the golden 
tint, as if you wanted salmon. Be sure to select for yourself, as 
tastes differ. Do not go to market for him, as the best are always 
brought to your door. It is far better to have none unless you 
will patiently learn how to cook him. A preserving kettle of 
the finest porcelain is best, but if you have nothing but an 
earthenware pipkin, it will do, with care. See that the linen in 
which you wrap him is nicely washed and mended, with the 
required number of buttons and strings tightly sewed on. Tie 
him in the kettle by a strong silk cord called comfort, as the one 
called duty is apt to be weak. They are apt to fly out of the 
kettle and be burned and crusty on the edges, since, like crabs 
and oysters, you have to cook them while alive. Make a clear^ 
steady fire out of love, neatness and cheerfulness. Set him as 
near this as seems to agree with him. If he sputters and fizzes, 
do not be anxious; some husbands do this until they are quite 
done. Add a little sugar in the form of what confectioners call 
kisses, but no vinegar or pepper on any account. A little spice 
improves them, but it must be used with judgment. Do not 
stick any sharp instrument into him to see if he is becoming 
tender. Stir him gently, watching the while lest he lie too flat 
and close to the kettle and so become useless. You cannot fail 
to know when he is done. If thus treated, you will find him 
very digestible, agreeing nicely with you and the children, and 
he will keep as long as you want, unless you become careless and 
set him in too cold a place. — Baltimore Sun. 



THE 




CHAPTER I. 



BREAD MAKING. 



|;F it be true that bread is the staff of life, no one can be insensible 
to the statement which has been made by authors on the sub- 
ject so many times of late, that we make a great mistake, from 
a dietetic point of view, in the kind of flour which we select for 
making bread. The most nutritious bread is not the whitest, but 
rather the reverse, since the branny portion of wheat, which is sys- 
tematically rejected, contains very valuable substances and salts 
^at, taken into the body, go to form bone, flesh, and nerve, as well 
as to assist in the digestion of starchy matters. The central por- 
tion of wheat, or that portion which forms the ordinary flour of 
eommerce, consists solely of starch, which is not a flesh-forming 
substance, but a heat-giving principle of food. The bran con- 
tains phosphates, of which bones and nerves are so largely made 
up; gluten, or flesh -forming substance; and cerealine, a peculiar 
body which has the character of a ferment, changing starchy mat- 
ter in such a way as to be more readily absorbed and utilized by 
ike system in the act of digestion. \ 

It stands to reason, therefore, that flour miade from the entire 
wheat contains the very substances which are needed to make it 
mttritious, and that the removal of the bran in the making of flour, 



8 BREAD MAKING. 

as ordinarily practiced, entails the loss of very important items of 
diet. Further, it is clear that the physiologist is right in recom- 
mending the use of whole grain flour, provided that there is no 
special drawback on account of its physical character. But this »s 
just what has been the case hitherto. When the bran is mixed with 
the ordinary flour and taken, it is found to be diflicult of digestion, 
and, in some cases, to irritate; the latter result being due to the 
mechanical action of the bran scales upon the intestines, and hence 
there has been a real difiiculty in extending the consumption of 
brown bread. But recent improvements in milling machinery have 
to a great extent overcome these difliculties, and as a consequence, 
the consumption of wheat in its many and various preparations is 
correspondingly increased. 

For good bread three things are essential — good flour, good 
yeast, and great care. 

Yeast that will not Sour. 

Good bread cannot be made from poor yeast, and here is a recipe 
that will not sour: One bowl of flour, one bowl of sugar, one cup 
of salt, one tablespoonful ginger. Take a double handful of hops 
and pour over them five quarts of water, boil an hour, and have as 
much water on at the last, and pour scalding hot through a strainer 
on to the other ingredients, stirring briskly; when cold add a cup 
of good yeast and let rise thirty-six hours, pour into a perfectly 
sweet jug, and keep in a cool place. A cupful of this added to a 
quart of lukewarm water, with flour enough to make a stiff batter, 
will make two loaves of bread. Set this at night and knead in 
more flour the next morning, keep in a place where it will be of 
even temperature, raising it as fast as possible; when raised again, 
knead a good deal, using but little flour, and put into bread pans; 
when well raised bake slowly three-fourths of an hour. Part of 
this taken out and raised once or twice, with sufficient butter or 
lard, and the white of an egg added, makes excellent rolls for tea. 



BREAD MAKING. 9 

A Good .Reliable Yeast. 

Steep slowly, in a porcelain or bright tin kettle, one large hand- 
ful of hops, tied in a cloth, boil six large potatoes, sliced thin, in 
two quarts of water; when done very soft, mash till smooth and 
creamy. Have ready one pint of flour, wet and rubbed to a smooth 
paste; pour into this the potato water, boiling hot, stirrino- 
smoothly; let it boil a few minutes, stirring all the time; add the 
hop water and potatoes, two tablespoonfuls of salt, and one cup of 
white sugar; stir thoroughly, and set away to cool. When milk 
warm, stir in one cup of yeast; let it rise in a warm place twelve 
hours; put it into an air-tight vessel, previously well scalded, and 
set in the cellar. This will keep from four to six weeks. Always 
make new yeast before the old is gone, in order to have some to 
start with. Be very particular with every new batch of yeast, to 
have the vessel in which it is kept well cleaned, and scalded with 
hot saleratus water. Much depends upon keeping this sweet and 
clean. 

Another Good Yeast. 

Boil two potatoes with a good handful of hops, tied in a bag; 
mash the potatoes when done, in the yeast dish, and add two tea- 
cupfuls of flour, and scald with the potato water; when cool, add 
a yeast cake soaked in warm water. Dry hop yeast can always be 
found at grocery stores. 

Good Home-made Bread. 
The superiority of good home-made bread has long been acknowl- 
edged, yet how few know how to make a i-eally good article of 
bread, therefore so many housekeepers depend on the baker, whicli 
is at least very expensive, to say nothing of the injury the constant 
use of baker's bread causes to the health of delicate persons and 
children, as all baker's bread contains alum, which causes the loaves 
to increase in weight, as it makes the flour absorb more water. 
Therefore a pound loaf of baker's bread will contain less nourish- 
ment than a loaf of home-made bread of equal weight. Economy. 



10 BREAD MAKING. 

therefore, should make every housekeeper her own bread maker, as 
baker's bread dries and becomes stale much quicker than home- 
made. 

To make first-rate bread, the sponge should be set over night in 
a warm place and raised and kneaded three times; the first time 
from fifteen to twenty minutes — the more the better. If this rule 
is followed the bread will present an even surface when sliced off, 
and not the loose, crumbly appearance which is so often seen in 
bread. 

Take three quarts of good flour, sift and warm; make a cavity in 
the center, add a large teaspoonful of salt; take one pint of new 
milk, or water boiling hot, pour into this and stir quickly; cool off 
with one quart of cold milk or water; add one cup of yeast; mix 
well together; then cover well and set in a moderately warm place 
(if in cold weather) ; this will be ready to knead up before break- 
fast, if set over night. Slashing the dough with a sharp knife adds 
to its lightness and texture. When well kneaded the first time cover 
tightly, watch closely, and as soon as light knead as before, but be 
very careful not to work in much flour; only keep enough on the 
board to prevent sticking, as all the flour that is added after the 
first kneading only makes the bread hard and dry. As soon as it 
is light the second time divide into loaves and reserve a portion for 
biscuit so that the bread will not be cut till cold. Mold smoothly, 
put into tins, let rise fifteen or twenty minutes in a warm place; 
bake half an hour in moderately hot oven. When done, set on 
hearth, cover with double thick cloth five minutes, turn out on 
same cloth; let stand until cool; put in stone jar and keep covered. 
Always keep a cloth folded in the bottom of the jar to take up 
the dampness which naturally collects. 

Yeast Bread. 

To three quarts water add one teacupful of yeast, stir into 
enough sifted flour to make a stiff batter; do this in the evening 
and set in a warm place. In the morning mix stiff; it will soon 



BREAD MAKING. 11 

rise, then mold out into the tins. No certain time can be given for 
the time of rising, as that depends on the temperature. 

Potato Bread. 
Pare and boil six good-sized potatoes, drain off the water, mash 
fine and pour over them about three pints of cold water and run 
through a colander; add flour until this is a thin batter, then put 
in a coffee .cup of yeast from the jug; let stand until it rises, then 
stir into it flour as much as you can with a spoon and let it rise 
again; work in enough more flour to make stiff enough for bread, 
and then let rise the third time; when light this time, work intvf 
loaves and let rise. All the flour must be sifted. 

Anotheb. 

Boil four potatoes to the loaf; mash when done and add two tea- 
cupfuls of flour and scald with the potato water; when cool add the 
yeast and let stand till bed time, then sponge and knead in the 
morning; make quite stiff and knead fifteen or twenty minutes; let 
rise again and mold into loaves. 

Milk Sponge Bread. 
Put a pint of boiling water into a pitcher with a teaspoonful of 
sugar, one-fourth teaspoonful of salt, and the same of soda; let it 
stand till you can bear your finger in it, then add flour to make a 
thick batter; beat it hard for two minutes. Now place the pitcher 
in a kettle of hot water — not hot enough to scald the mixture; keep 
the water at the same temperature till the emptyings are light. If 
set early in the morning and carefully watched they will be ready 
by eleven o'clock to make a sponge the same as for other bread, 
with a quart of very warm milk. Let this sponge get very light, 
then make into loaves and set to rise again, taking care that they 
do not get too light this time before putting into the oven, or the 
bread will be dry and tasteless. The emptyings pitcher and bread 
pan or tray must be perfectly clean and sweet. Scald them out 
Vfith saleratus or lime water. 



12 BREAD MAKING. 

Salt Rising Bread. 

In the evening scald two tablespoonfuls of corn meal, a pinch of 
salt and one of sugar, with sweet milk, and set in a warm place till 
morning; then scald a teaspoonful of sugar, one of salt, half as 
much soda, with a pint of boiling water, add cold water till luke- 
warm, then put in the mush made the night before, and thicken to 
a batter with flour; put in a close vessel in a kettle of warm water 
(not too hot); when light, mix stiff, adding a little shortening; 
mold into loaves. It will soon rise, and will not take as long to 
bake as yeast bread. 

Salt Rising Bread, No. 2. 

In the morning take a quart dish and scald it out, then put in a 
pint of warm water; put in a teaspoonful of salt and a little pinch 
of soda, two or three tablespoonfuls of corn meal, and flour enough 
to make a thick batter. Stir well, and set the dish in a kettle of 
warm water, and keep at the same temperature (just so you can 
bear your hand in it). If water rises on the top, stir in briskly one 
or two tablespoonfuls of flour, and put back into the kettle. If the 
flour is good the emptyings will be light within three or four 
hours; then take flour enough in a bread pan to make three or four 
loaves of bread, make a hole in the center, put in the emptyings, 
and fill the same dish Avith warm water; add a little salt, stir it in 
with a spoon, mix a thick spotige and cover it with some of the 
flour, f»nd set in a warm place to rise. When light, mold it into 
loaves and set to rise again (it does not require as much kneading 
as yeast bread). Bake from a half to three-fourths of an hour. 
Railroad emptyings are made in the same way, of middlings instead 
of flour. 

Corn Bread. 
One pint sweet milk, one pint sour milk, one pint flour, two pints 
meal, one teaspoonful syrup, one teaspoonful salt, one teaspoonful 
soda. Steam three hours. 



BREAD MAKING. 13 

CoKN Bread, No. 2. 

Two eggs well beaten, one cup sugar, half cup butter, one cup 
sweet milk, half cup sour milk, half cup wheat flour, one and a half 
cups corn meal, two teaspoonf uls of any good baking powder. 

Corn Bread, No. 3. 
I 

! 

One pint buttermilk, two eggs, one pint corn meal, two table- 
spoonfuls melted butter, a little salt, and one teaspoonful soda. 

Corn Bread, No. 4. 

One pint com meal, one pint flour, one pint buttermilk, one tea- 
cupful molasses, one teaspoonful soda, one teaspoonful salt. Bake 
just two hours. 

Grandmother's Indian Bread. 

Three cups sweet milk, three cups corn meal, one cup wheat 
flour, one half cup molasses, one teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoon- 
ful salt. Put into a buttered bake-dish, and set in a steamer and 
steam three hours. 

Quick Graham Bread. 

One and a half pints sour milk, two-thirds cup cooking molasses, 
a half teaspoonful salt, two even teaspoonfuls of saleratus dissolved 
in a little hot water, and as much Graham flour as can be stirred in 
evenly with a spoon. Put into a well-greased pan, and bake imme- 
diately. It will require from an hour and a half to two hours to 
bake. 

Baking Powder Graham Bread. 
I One and one-half pints Graham flour, one-half pint flour, onw 
tablespoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of salt, two teaspoonfuls 
baking powder; mix with a pint and a half of milk, or equal parts 
of milk and water. Sift together Graham, flour, sugar, salt, &r.d 
baking powder; add the milk, or milk and water, mix rapidl;^ into 
a soft dough, put into a greased tin, bake in rather hot oven for 
forty minutes. Protect the loaf with ])aper the first fifteen n-ninutes. 



14 BREAD MAKING. 

Brown Bread of Graham Flour. 
Take one cup of milk; add hot water to warm; thicken with 
sifted flour, sufficient to make a sponge; stand over night in a 
warm place; in the morning add half a cup of milk, with a cup of 
hot water, one cup molasses, one cup butter, one teaspoonful salt; 
mix in Graham flour till thick, and smooth with a spoon; pour into 
bread pans half full; let stand in a warm place until the pans are 
nearly full ; bake an hour in a moderately hot oven. Keep a steady 
fire. 

Graham Bread. 

To a scant quart of warm water add a heaping teaspoonful of 
salt, a good half cup of brown sugar; stir in a pint of the sponge 
made of flour for potato bread; add as much Graham flour as 
can be stirred in; put into baking pans and let rise until light; 
bake in a moderate oven, and when done wrap in a damp towel 
until cool. 

Graham Bread, No. 2. 

Take one and two-thirds cups of water or milk and a small piece 
of butter or lard; mix quite thick with Graham flour or Arlington 
wheat meal, which is better; add half a cup of good yeast and set 
to rise over night. In the morning dissolve one-half teaspoonful 
soda in a little water and add one-half cup of molasses; stir this 
into the bread, mix quite soft and put in baking tin to rise. Bake 
thoroughly. A nice rye and wheat loaf may be made in the same 
way, using one and one-half cups sifted rye and the rest wheat 
flour. If you wish a light colored loaf use only one cup of rye and* 
sweeten with sugar. 

Brown Bread. 

Take two quarts of corn meal; scald with one quart of boiling 
milk or water; when cool add one quart of Graham flour, one large 
spoonful salt, one cup brown sugar or best molasses, one cup home- 
made yeast, one cup flour. Mix with warm water as stiff as can 
easily be stirred; put in deep basins; steam two hours and bake 



BREAD MAKING. 15 

one. Before baking baste with a few spoonfuls of sweet cream or 
milk; this makes a soft, tender crust. 

Biscuit is made from the same dough as the bread, rolled out and 
spread with a small quantity of lard, which must be very fresh and 
sweet. Double the dough together, roll and spread again three 
times; then cut in small biscuits; place on buttered tins; let stand 
half an hour; bake fifteen minutes until a very light brown. Cover 
with cloth a few minutes and slip off on the same until ready for 
use. All bread, biscuit, loaf cake or doughnuts made from yeast 
should rise after being mixed before being baked; if put into the 
oven or fried directly they are never light, as the dough has no 
chance to recover its elasticity. 

Beown Bkeai>, No. 2. 

One pint of rye meal sifted, one pound of coarse yellow Indian 
meal sifted, one quart of sour milk, salt, half cup of molasses or 
less, one heaping teaspoonful of saleratus dissolved in a little hot 
water. Steam three hours and-a-half in a tin pail set in a kettle of 
boiling water. 

Boston Brown Bread. 

Flour one-half pint, one pint corn meal, one-half pint ry*-- 
flour, one teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful brown sugar 
two teaspoonfuls baking powder, one-half pint water; sift flour, 
corn meal, rye flour, sugar, salt and baking powder together 
thoroughly; peel, wash, and well boil two mealy potatoes, rub 
them through the sieve, diluting with water. When this is quite 
cold use it to mix the flour, etc., into a batter like cake; pour it 
into a well-greased mold, having a cover (a tin pail will do), place 
it in a kettle or sauce pan half full of boiling water, when the 
loaf may steam or simmer one hour; then take off the cover and 
bake in the oven a half hour. 

Rye Bread. 

Make a sponge as for wheat bread, and let it rise over night; 
then add two-thirds cup molasses, one teaspoonful salt, one quart 



16 BREAD MAKING. 

milk and water — equal parts — and mix with rye flour, not as stiflf 
as wheat bread, and bake. 

Rye and Indian Bread. 

Scald two quarts Indian meal by pouring over it just boiling 
water enough to wet it, one quart rye meal or flour, one-half tea- 
cupful molasses, two teaspoonfuls salt, one of soda, one cup of 
yeast; make as thick as can be stirred with a spoon, mixing with 
warm water, and let rise over night; put in a bake tin, let stand a 
half hour, and bake from four to six hours. 

Rye Bread with Baking Powder. 

One pint rye flour, one-half pint corn meal, one-half pint flour, 
one teaspoonful sugar, one teaspoonful salt, two teaspoonfuls 
baking powder, one tablespoonful lard, nearly one pint milk. Sift 
together rye flour, corn meal, flour, sugar, salt and powder, rub in 
the lard cold, add the milk and mix into a smooth batter, as for 
cake; pour into a well greased tin, and bake in a moderate oven 
three-quarters of an hour; protect with a paper the first quarter. 

HoYLETON Bread. 

Five cups Indian meal, seven cups wheat flour, two cups rye 
meal, four cups buttermilk, two cups sweet milk, one-half cup 
molasses, two teaspoonfuls salt, two teaspoonfuls soda. Put it in a 
three quart pail that has a cover; let it stand near the fire thirty 
minutes with the cover off, to rise, then put on cover, and bake or 
steam four hours. 

Norwegian Bread, for Dyspeptics. 

One pint barley meal, one-half pint Graham, one-half pint flour, 
one teaspoonful salt, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, one pint 
milk. Sift together barley meal, Graham, flour, salt and powder. 
Mix into a firm batter with the milk, pour into a greased tin, and 
bake in a moderate oven forty minutes; cover with a greased paper 
the first twenty minutes. 



BREAD MAKING. 17 

Oat Meal Bread. 

One-half pint oat meal, one ancl-a-lialf pints flour, half teaspoonf ul 
salt, three teaspoonf uls baking powder, three-fourths pint milk; 
boil the oat meal in one and-a-half pints salted water for one hour. 
Then dilute it with the milk. Set aside to get perfectly cold. Sift 
together flour, salt, powder, and when the oat meal preparation is 
cold place it in a bread bowl; add to it the flour, etc.; mix smoothly 
together, pour from the bowl into the greased tin, and bake in a 
moderate oven three-fourths of an hour; protect the loaf with paper 
the first tAventy minutes. 

Rice Bread. 

Boil one cupful of rice in a pint of water; when tender, add one- 
half pint milk; when cold, add one and-a-half pints flour sifted, with 
a teaspoonf ul sugar, half teaspoonful salt, two teaspoonfuls baking 
powder; mix together smootniy, pour mto greased tin, and bake 
forty minutes, 



CHAPTER II. 

BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 

Light Biscuit. 
[N kneading bread, set aside a small loaf for biscuits. Into 
this work a heaping tablesjioonful of lard and butter mixed, 
and a teaspoonful of sugar. The more it is worked, the 
whiter it will be. As it rises, mold it down twice before making 
into biscuit. Roll out and cut with a biscuit cutter. The dough 
should be quite soft. 

Butter Biscuit. 
Sift one quart of flour into a pan, and make a hollow in the center 
large enough to admit a pint of milk and a coffee-cup of yeast; mix 
into a sponge, set it to rise; in the morning add one pound of 
melted butter, and knead as much flour as will, with another pint 
of warm milk or water, make a soft dough ; make out the biscuit in 
pans to rise; when sufficiently light, bake in a well-heated oven. 

Soda Biscuit. 

One quart of sifted flour, an even teaspoonful of soda dissolved 
in a pint of buttermilk, or sour milk, heaping tablespoonful of lard, 
a pinch of salt. Bake in an oven — not too hot — after raising fifteen 
or twenty minutes. If sour cream is to be had, use it instead of 
milk, leaving out the shortening. 

Dixie Biscuit. 
Three pints of flour, two eggs, two tablespoonfuls of lard, one 
small cup of yeast, one cup of milk; mix at 11 o'clock, roll out at 
4 o'clock, and cut with two sizes of cutters, putting the smaller one 
on top; let rise until supper. Bake twenty minutes. 

18 



BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 1& 

Baking Powder Biscuit. 
To begin with, have a hot oven ; have the flour sifted, and roll 
dough as soft as it can be handled. Then more baking pow- 
der is needed than is usually given. For each teacupful of flour 
use a teaspoonful of powder; butter the size of a hen's egg is suffi- 
cient for a quart of flour; after rubbing powder and butter in'oo the 
flour, mix soft with cold water or milk, stirring with a spoon; roll 
lightly and bake at once. 

Ceeam of Tartar Biscuit. 

One quart flour, a tablespoonful of butter, and a tablespoonful of 
lard, a half teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of soda, two tea- 
spoonfuls of cream of tartar. Sift the flour and cream of tartar 
together, rub the butter and lard very thoroughly through it; dis- 
solve the soda in a pint of milk or water (ii water, use more short- 
ening) ; mix all together. Roll out, adding as little flour as possi- 
ble; cut with a biscuit cutter, and bako immediately in a quick 
oven. 

English Biscurr. 

One and a-half pints of flour, one cofree-cup full corn starch, three 
tablespoonfuls sugar, a large pinch of salt, tAvo lai'ge teaspoonfula 
baking powder, three tablespoonfuk lard, one egg, one-half pint 
milk, one-half cup currants, one tablespoonful coriander seed (if 
desired). Sift together flour, corn .-starch, sugar, salt, and baking 
powder; rub in the lard cold; add the eggs beaten, milk, currants 
well cleaned; mix into a smooth dough soft enough to handle, flour 
the board, turn out the dough, roll it out to half an inch thickness, 
cut out with a round cutter, lay them on a greased baking tin, and 
bake in a rather hot oven twenty minutes ; rub over with a little 
butter on a clean piece of linen when taken from the oven. 

Grah«.m Biscuits. 
Take one quart water or milk, butter the size of an egg, three 
tablespoonfuls sugar, half cup yeast, and a little salt; take enough 
white flour to mix a batter witli the water; add the other ingredi- 



20 BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 

euts, and as much Graham flour as can be stirred in Avith a spoon; 
set it away until morning; then grease a pan, flour hands, take a 
himp of dough the size of a hen's egg, roll lightly between the 
palms; let them rise twenty minutes, and bake in a rather hot oven. 

Cold Biscuits. 
Three pints flour, two tablespoonf uls sugar, one teaspoonf ul salt, 
two heaping teaspoonf uls baking powder, four tablespoonf uls 
lard, tAVO tablespoonfui., caraway seeds, two eggs, one pint milk. 
Sift together flour, sugar, salt and powder, rub in lard cold, add the 
seeds, beaten eggs, and milk; mix into a smooth, firm dough, flour 
the board, turn out the dough, give it a few quick kneadings, and 
roll out to the thickness of a quarter of an inch, cut into lai-ge bis- 
cuits, prick with a fork, lay on a greased tin. Bake in hot oven 
fifteen minutes; when cold, store for use. 

BuxNS. 
Break an egg into a cup, and fill the cup up with sweet milk; 
mix with it a half cup yeast, half cup butter, one cup sugar, enough 
flour to make a soft dough; flavor with nutmeg; let rise till very 
light, then mold into biscuits with a few currants; let rise the 
second time and bake, and when nearly done glaze with a little 
molasses and milk. 

BUNNS. 

One cup butter, one cup sugar, half cup yeast, half pint milk, 
make stiflE with flour, and mold into biscuits; when light, bake. 

BUNNS, 

One cup yeast, one egg, one tablespoonful molasses, flour to make 
a batter; let it rise, then add one pint milk, one pint sugar dissolved 
in the milk, half pint butter, two eggs; stir in flour stiff enough to 
make the buns, and let them rise in the pans before baking. 

Cinnamon Cake. 
Take yeast bread dough when light, knead and roll out three- 
fourths of an inch thick; put thin slices of butter on the top, 
sprinkle with sugar, and then with cinnamon: let rise, and bake. 



BREAKFAST AND TEA CAKES. 21 

Graham Cakes. 
To one quart Graham flour add one teaspoonful of salt, five 
tablespoonfuls molasses, three tablespoonfuls yeast, or a yeast cake 
dissolved in warm water. Stir as thick as pound cake; let stand 
over night; when ready to bake, add a well beaten egg, a table- 
spoonful lard and a teaspoonful of soda. Bake in cups half an hour. 

Rye Drop Cakes. 

One egg, two cups rye flour, two cups flour, half a cup sugar, a 
teaspoonful salt, two teaspoonfuls cream of tai-tar, one teaspoonful 
soda — or three teaspoonfuls baking powder, — a tablespoonf ul melted 
butter, and one of lard, one and a half cups milk; drop from a spoon 
and bake half an hour. 

Corn Cakes. 

One pint sour milk, two cups Indian meal, one cup flour, one egg, 
two tablespoonfuls molasses, one teaspoonful salt, one teaspoonful 
soda; mix thoroughly and bake twenty-five minutes in shallow 
pans. 

Johnny Cake. 

One quart corn meal, one quart milk, two eggs, two tablespoon- 
fuls shortening, half cup sugar, teaspoonful salt, three teaspoonfuls 
baking powder — or substitute one quart sour milk and a large tea- 
spoonful soda. 

Newport Breakfast Cakes. 

Three eggs, three spoonfuls sugar, one and-a-half pints milk, 
half cup butter, three teaspoonfuls baking powder. Stir stiff with 
flour and bake in loaves, like cakes. 

Potato Cakes. 
Peal enough good sized potatoes for a meal for the family, grate 
on a coarse grater, and stir in from three to five eggs, salt and mix 
stiff enough to mold into cakes, and fry in hot lard or drippings. 



22 GRIDDLE CAKES. 

GRIDDLE CAKES. 

Stale Bread Griddi.e Cakes. 
Soak one pint bread crumbs in warm water, when soft drain ott 
the wate/ and add one pint sour milk with a teaspoonful soda 
stirred in, half teaspoonful salt, a beaten egg, and thicken with 
flour to make a batter. 

CoRX Meal Griddle Cakes. 
One pint corn meal, one of sour milk or buttermilk, one egg, one 
teaspoonful soda, one of salt. Bake on a griddle. 

Rice Griddle Cakes. 
One and one-half pints boiled rice, the same of flour, one-half 
teacupful sour milk, one teacupf ul sweet milk, one teaspoonful soda, 
salt, three eggs, and butter the size of a walnut. 

Flour Griddle Cakes. 
Make a thick batter with one quart of sour milk and flour. Let 
it stand over night and in the morning add two well-beaten eggs, 
salt, and a teaspoonful of soda dissolved in a tablespoonful warm 
water. Bake immediately. 

Green Corn Griddle Cakes. 
Six ears grated corn, two eggs, one pint milk, one pint flour, one 
tablespoonful butter, a little salt. Bake on a griddle. 

Hominy Griddle Cakes, 
To one pint warm boiled hominy add a pint of milk, or milk and 
water, and flour enough to make a thin batter; beat up two or 
three eggs and stir them into the batter with a little salt. Fry as 
other griddle cakes. 

Crumb Corn Cakes. 
Soak a quart of bread crumbs in a quart of sour milk over night; 
in the morning rub through a colander and add four well-beater» 
eggs, a heaping teaspoonful soda dissolved in a little warm water^ 



GRIDDLE CAKES. 23 

one tablespoonful shortening, and corn meal to mix into a nice 
batter. It is better to beat yolks and whites of eggs separately, 
stirring the whites in lightly just before baking. 
Flannel Cakes. 
Three eggs, one quart sweet milk, oiie quart sifted flour, with 
three teaspoonfuls baking powder, a small spoonful salt; beat the 
volks and half of the milk, salt and flour together, then the 
remainder of the milk, and last, the whites of the eggs, well beaten; 
a teacup of boiled rice improves them. 

Buckwheat Cakes. 
Take, of equal parts of buttermilk and water, one quart, half cup 
yeast, a little salt ; stir into a batter with buckwheat flour, let rise 
over night; in the morning add half teaspoonfjul soda dissolved 
in a little water. Bake on a hot griddle. 

Graham Gkiddle Cakes. 
One pint Graham flour, half pint corn meal, half pint flour, one 
heaping teaspoonful sugar, half teaspoonful salt, one egg, one pint 
buttermilk, one teaspoonful soda. 

Squash, Pumpkin and Apple Griddle Cakes. 
Cold stewed squash, pumpkin or apple, rubbed through a colan- 
der, half pint; mix with two well-beaten eggs and half pint milk. 
Sift together half pint Graham flour, half pint corn meal, half tea- 
spoonful salt, heaping teaspoonful baking powder. Mix smooth and 
thoroughly into a batter and bake on a hot griddle. 

Berry Griddle Cakes. 
Take of huckleberries, blackberries, or raspberries a half pint, 
one and one-half pints flour, one teaspoonful salt, one tablespoonful 
brown sugar, two teaspoonfuls baking poAvder, two eggs, and one 
pint milk. Sift together flour, sugar, salt and powder; add beaten 
eggs, milk and berries; mix into a batter; have the griddle hot 
enough to form a crust as soon as the batter touches it. In order 
to confine the juice of the berries turn quickly in order to form a 



24 GRIDDLE CAKES. 

crust on the other side; turn once more on each side to complete 

the baking. 

Egg Cracknels. 

One quart flour, one-half teaspoonful salt, five tablespoonfuls 
sugar, one teaspoonful baking powder, four tablespoonfuls butter, 
and five eggs. Sift together flour, sugar, salt and powder; rub in 
the butter cold; add the eggs beaten, and mix into a firm, smooth 
dough. Flour the board, turn out the dough, and give it a few 
minutes' rapid kneading; cover with a damp towel fifteen minutes; 
then roll it out to the thickness of one-eighth of an inch. Cut out 
with biscuit cutter. When all are cut out, have a large pot of 
boiling, and a large tin pan of cold water. Drop them a few at a 
time into the boiling water. AVhen they appear at the surface 
and curl at the edges, take them up with a skimmer, and drop them 
in the cold water. When all are thus served, lay them on greased 
baking tins and bake in a fairly hot oven fifteen minutes. 

Oatmeal Crackers. 
One pint very fine oatmeal, one-half pint Graham flour, one-half 
teaspoonful salt, one-half teaspoonful sugar, one-half teaspoonful 
baking powder, one-half pint cream. Sift together the oatmeal, 
Graham, salt, sugar and powder; add the cream and mix into 
a dough, rather too soft to handle. Let it stand half an hour, by 
which time it wall have absorbed the extra moisture, and handling 
it will be easy. Flour the board with Graham, roll out to the 
thickness of one-third inch, prick with a fork, lay on greased bak- 
ing tin, and bake in a moderate oven ten minutes. They must be 
watched during baking, as they burn quickly, and when baked 
handled with care; they break easily. 

Graham Crackers. 

'Sift together one quart Graham flour, one tablespoonful sugar, 

half teaspoonful salt, half teaspoonful baking powder; mix with 

two tablespoonfuls butter and a good half pint milk, into a smooth 

dough, and knead well for five minutes; rcU it to the thickness of 



GRIDDLE CAKES. 25 

one-quarter inch, cut into crackers round or square. Bak<^. in rather 
hot oven ten minutes; when cold store for use. 

Crumpets. 

Mix together thoroughly while dry one quart sifted flour, two 
heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder, a little salt, then add two 
tablespoonfuls melted butter and sweet milk enough to make a thin 
dough. Bake quickly in muffin rings or patty pans. 

London Crumpets. 
Sift together one and one-half pints flour, one-half teaspoonful 
salt, one teaspoonful sugar, and two teaspoonfuls baking powder; 
add one beaten egg, a scant pint of milk and cream in equal parts, 
a little ground cinnamon or a teaspoonful extract of cinnamew half 
fill greased muffin rings, place on a hot, well-greased griddle. Bake 
on one side only. Serve hot with cottage cheese. 

Kentucky Corn Dodgers. 

Place your griddle where it will heat, for this is much better 
than a bread jDan, there being less danger of scorching at the bot- 
tom. Take an even pint of sifted meal, a heaping tablespoonful of 
lard, a pinch of salt, and a scant half pint of cold water; mix well 
and let it stand while you grease your griddle and sprinkle some 
meal over it. Make the dough into rolls the size and shape of 
goose eggs, and drop them on the griddle, taking care to flatten as 
little as possible, for the less bottom crust the better. Place in the 
oven and bake until brown on the bottom. Then change to the 
grate, and brown on top, taking from twenty to thirty minutes for 
the whole process. Eaten while hot with plenty of good butter, 
they are better than any other bread. 

The same amount of meal, lard and salt mixed with boiling 
water, till of the consistency of thick batter, will give you delight- 
ful hot cakes, to be cooked like any other batter bread. 



26 FRITTERS. 

FRITTERS. 

Green Corn Fritters. 

Gr9te green corn from the cob, and allow an egg and a half for 
every cupful, with a tablespoonful of milk or cream; beat the eggs 
well; add the corn by degrees, beating very hard; salt to taste. 
Put a tablespoonful of melted butter to every pint of corn; stir in 
the milk, and thicken with just enough flour to hold them together 
— say a tablespoonful for every two eggs. You may fry in hot 
lard, as you would fritters, or cook upon a griddle like batter cakes. 
Eaten at dinner or breakfast, these ahvays find a cordial welcome. 
Green Corn Fritters, No. 2. 

Two cups of grated corn, two eggs, one cup of milk, flour for 
thin batter, a pinch of soda, salt, one tablespoonful melted butter. 
Mix and fry as you would griddle cakes. 

Apple Fritters. 

Beat three eggs very lightly, then stir in one teaspoonful of salt, 
Dne-half cup of sugar, one pint of milk, two cups of chopped apple 
tod two cups of flour. Flavor with nutmeg. Stir all well together 
and fry in lard as pancakes. Sift sugar over them and send to the 
table. 

Celery Fritters. 

Boil some thick but tender stalks of celery in salted water; when 
done dry them on a cloth, cut them in equal lengths about one and 
a-half inches; fry them in batter to a golden color, sprinkling fine 
salt well over, and serve. 

Oyster Fritters. 

Drain them thoroughly, chop fine, season with pepper and salt. 
Make a batter of eggs, milk and flour; stir the chopped oysters in 
this and fry in hot butter; or fry them whole, enveloped in batter, 
one in each fritter. In this case the batter should be thicker than 
if they were chopped. 



FRITTERS. 27 

Clam Fritters. 
Twelve clams, miiicecl fine; one pint milk; three eggs. Add the 
liquor from tlie clams to the milk; beat up the eggs and put to 
this, with salt and jjepper, and flour enough for thin batter; lastly, 
the chopped clams. Fry in hot lard, trying a little first to see if the 
fat and batter are right. A tablespoonful will make a fritter of 
-moderate size. Or you can dip the whole clams in batter and 
cook in like manner. Fry quickly, or they are apt to be too greasy. 

Lobster Fritters. 
Put one lobster in two quarts boiling water with half a cup salt; 
boil twenty-five minutes; when cold remove the meat and fat, cut 
into small slices; put one tablespoonful butter, one tablespoonful 
flour, one cup cream, a little celery, salt, thyme, white pepper, and 
a salt-spoon of parsley, into a stew-pan; let boil two minutes; add 
yolks of four eggs, and the lobster; mix and set it back to simmer 
five minutes; pour it out on a well-greased dish and set it away to 
get firm by cooling; cut into slices, dip into common batter and fry 
to a light brown in hot lard. Serve on the fritters a few sprigs of 
parsley, quite dry, fried in the lard fifteen seconds. 

Rice Fritters. 
Boil one cup of rice in one pint of milk until soft; add the yolks of 
three eggs, one tablespoonful sugar, two tablespoonfuls butter, two 
tablespoonf uls flour; when cold add the whites of the eggs whipped 
to a stiff froth; drop in spoonfuls in plenty of hot lard and fry to a 
light brown color. Serve with cream, wine or lemon sauce. 

Blackberry Fritters. 

Mix one cup blackberries with one and a-half cups commoit 
batter and drop by tablespoonfuls into hot lard. 

All berry fritters can be made as directed for the above and 
served with spiced sauce made as follows: Set on the fire three- 
fourths pint of water, one cup sugar; boil twenty minutes, remove 
from the fire and add one teaspoonful each of extract cloves, mace, 
and ginger. 



28 GEMS. 



GEMS, 



Graham Gems, 
One pint milk, one pint Graham flour, salt-spoonful salt; beat 
well; heat the gem pan hot, butter it and drop the dough into the 
sockets with a spoon, filling each one-half full. 
Graham Gems, No. 2. 
One pint buttermilk, one teaspoonful soda, a little salt, one egg, 
one-half cup sugar, tablespoonful lard; thicken with Graham flour, 
and bake in gem tins. 

Graham Gems, No. 3. 
One pint milk, one cup flour, one cup Graham flour, one egg, a 
little salt. Have the irons hot before using. 
Cold Water Gems. 
Take cold water, Graham flour, and a little salt, make rather a 
stiff batter; heat and grease the irons, or tins, and bake twenty- 
minutes. 

Mixed Gems. 
One-half pint Graham, half pint corn meal, half pint rye flour, 
half pint buckwheat flour, one teaspoonful salt, two heaping tea- 
spoonfuls baking powder, one pint rich milk; mix into a thin 
batter, then half fill well-greased gem j^ans. Bake in hot oven 
fifteen minutes. 

Corn GEisrs. 
One pint corn meal, one pint flour, one teaspoonful salt, two 
large teaspoonfuls baking powder, one pint milk; mix into a firm 
batter, two-thirds fill well-greased gem pans and bake in a hot oven 

fifteen minutes. 

Oatmeal Gems. 

Soak one cup oatmeal over night in one cup water; in the morn- 
ing add one cup sour milk, one teaspoonful soda, one cup of flour, 
a little salt, bake in gem irons. If on trial they are a little moist or 
sticky, add a little more flour. 



MUFFINS. 29 



MUFFINS. 

To one quart of milk add two well-beaten eggs, a lump of butter 
half the size of an egg, a little salt, and flour enough to make a 
stiff batter; stir in half a pint of yeast. Let them stand until they 
are perfectly light and then bake on a griddle in rings made for the 
purpose. These are merely strips of tin three-fourths of an inch 
wide, made into rings two and a half or three inches in diameter, 
and without bottoms, the ring being simply placed on tlfe griddle 
and the batter being poured in to fill it. 

Muffins, No. 2. 

One pint flour, one cup milk, two eggs, two teaspoonfuls baking 
powder, butter the size of an egg; beat the yolks of the eggs witb 
the butter, then add the whites well beaten. Sift baking powder 
with the flour, and mix all together into a batter. Bake in muflin 
rings. 

Muffins, No. 3. 

One pint new milk, one egg, one tablespoonful sugar, one table- 
spoonful butter, half teaspoonful salt, one cake yeast (or better, 
half cup home-made yeast) ; mix with flour until a very stiff batter 
is formed; leave in a warm place over night and bake in the morn- 
ing in rings. 

Rice Flour Muffins. 

One and one-half cups rice flour, two cujis Avheat floiir, one pint 
milk, one egg, three teaspoonfuls baking powder, a little salt, a 
small piece of butter. Bake as usual. 

Rice Muffins. 

One pint sifted flour, two heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder 
and a li-ttle salt. Thoroughly mix together; then add one cup cold 
boiled rice, two eggs, one tablespoonful butter, and enough sweet 
milk to make a thick batter. Bake immediately. 



30 MUSH. 

Graham Muffins. 
Two cups sour milk, one teaspoonful saleratus, two eggs, a little 
salt, butter half the size of an egg, three cups Graham flour. Bake 
in rings. 

Graham Muffins, No. 2. 
Two cups Graham flour, one cup sweet milk, one-third cup sugar, 
one egg, butter the size of an egg, two teaspoonfuls baking powder. 
Bake in fings twenty or thirty minutes in hot oven. 

Corn Meal Muffins. 
One and one-half cups of corn meal, the same of flour, two heap- 
ing teaspoonfuls baking powder, one-half cup sugar, one-half tea- 
spoonful salt, one tablespoonful butter, two eggs, and milk enough 
to make a stiff batter. 



MUSH. 

Corn Musii. 

Take boiling water (soft water is preferable), salt to the taste, 
add meal very slowly so as to prevent any lumps being formed; 
cook thoroughly. 

Oatmeal Mush. 

Put four tablespoonfuls oatmeal into one quart cold water; add 
one teaspoonful salt, let it cook slowly for from one to two hours, 
adding hot water when needed; just before serving stir in one 
teaspoonful butter, or soak the meal over night and add boiling 
water and cook in the morning. 

Cracked Wheat Mush. 

To one quart salted water add three-fourths cup cracked or 
rolled wheat, and boil two hours ; or it may be soaked over night 
and boil one hour. 



PUFFS. 31 

Cracked Wheat Mush, No, 2. 
Moisten one and one-half cups cracked wheat with cold water, 
add one-half teaspoonful salt, place in a muslin bag, leaving half 
the space for the wheat to swell; put into a small colander and 
place in a kettle of water and keep boiling from three to four 
hours. Serve with syrup and butter or cream and sugar. It is 
nice sliced and fried when cold. 

Fried Mush for Breakfast, 
Night before, stir into two quarts of boiling water a little salt 
and one pound of farina, boil for ten minutes, and pour it into 
a shallow dish to cool; next morning cut it into slices, and fry in 
lard light brown. This is far superior to corn meal mush. 

Hominy. 
Take one cup hominy to one quart salted water and soak over 
night and boil three-fourths of an hour. Serve with milk and 
sugai'. Slice and fry when cold. 



PUFFS. 

Puffs. 
Two eggs, two cu2>9 of milk, two cups of flour, and a little salt. 
Pour into hot roll pans and bake in a quick oven. Fill the pans 
about half full. 

German Puffs. 
Two cups of sweet milk, two cups of flour, three eggs, and a 
little salt. 

Graham Puffs. 
One egg, one pint sweet milk, one pint Graham flour, and a pinch 
of salt; beat the eggs thoi-oughly; add the milk, then the flour 
gradually; beat the whole mixture briskly with an egg-beater; pour 
into cast-iron gem pans, well-greased, and hot; bake in very hot 
oven; this mixture is just sufticient for twelve gems. 



S2 PUFFS. 

Oatmeal Puffs. 

Sift together one-half pint oatmeal, one-half pint Graham, one* 
half pint flour, one teaspoonf ul sugar, one-half teaspoonful salt, and 
two teaspoonf uls baking powder; add three beaten eggs and one 
pint milk; mix into a thin batter; half fill well-greased gem pans 
and bake in hot oven ten or fifteen minutes. 

Potato Puffs. 

To each two cupfuls of mashed potatoes take one tablespoonful 
of melted butter and beat to a cream; put with this two eggs 
whipped light, and a cupful of milk, salting to taste; beat all well; 
pour into greased baking dish and bake quickly to a light brown. 
Serve in the dish in which it is cooked. 

Ceeam Puffs. 

One-half pint boiling water, one cup of butter, two cups of flour. 
Let the water and butter boil, then stir in the flour; let it cool; add 
five eggs well beaten; beat all well; drop in niuflin rings; bake 
thirty minutes. Boil one pint of milk; beat together one cup of 
flour, one cup of sugar, and two eggs; add this to the boiling milk 
and boil three minutes; cut a hole in the top of each cake and filJ 
with cream, putting the piece of crust back. 

PUFFETS. 

One quart flour, one pint milk, two eggs beaten light, butter size 
of an egg, three tablespoonfuls sugar, three teaspoonfttls baking 
powder; bake quickly. 

Pboverbs. 

One cup rich milk, one egg, two cups flour, one teaspoonful 
baking powder, a little salt; beat together thoroughly, fill buttered 
cups half full and bake in a hot oven. 

Pocket Books. 

One quart warm water or milk, two eggs, three teaspoonfuls 
sugar, one cup yeast, four tablespoonfuls melted butter, add flour 
to make a sponge, and set to rise; when it is risen work it over and 



ROLLS. 33 

set to rise again; when light put in a piece of soda the size of a 
bean ; roll out, spread the surface with butter, cut in squares and 
double over to form a pocket book shape; put in a pan and let stand 
till light, then bake. 



ROLLS. 

How TO MAKE Rolls. 
When mashing potatoes for dinner, put a tablespoonf ul of it into 
one pint of the water they were boiled in, and set aside till bed- 
time; then strain it through a colander, add one pint of milk, one 
large spoonful nice lard, one large spoonful white sugar, one tea- 
spoonful salt, one penny-worth of yeast, and flour to make a stiff 
batter. Leave it in a moderately warm place. In the morning add 
flour enough to make a soft dough, working it well. Let it rise 
again, roll out half an inch thick, cut into round cakes, fold 
together, drawing a buttered knife through as you fold them. Let 
them rise again for half an, hour, or until light; bake in a quick 
oven for fifteen or twenty minutes. In cold weather the milk 
should be luke-warm; in hot weather the milk should be scalded 
and cooled. The potatoes must be pared before boiling, and the 
kettle in which they are boiled must be perfectly clean. 

Rolls No. 2. 
Take a piece of bread dough when molded; roll out half an inch 
thick; spread with butter, and sprinkle with sugar; roll up and 
cut off the size you want; let rise and bake. 

Paekeu House Rolls. 
Two quarts flour, one cup yeast, one pint milk, boiled, then 
cooled to milk- warm, one tablespoonf ul of shortening, one of sugar: 
lay a sj^onge, leaving out enough flour to mix in when rolling out: 
if for tea, mix in the morning; bake as soon as ready. 

Ciio^^AMON Rolls, 
Take light dough, as for bread; mix in shortening, an egg, and a 



34 ROLLS. 

little sugar; roll out to al)Out one-quartor incli in thickness; spread 
with butter, tlien sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon; roll up and cut 
as you would a jelly cake; put in pans like biscuit; set to rise. 
When light, put a little lump of butter, and sugar and cinnamon 
\)n each one, and bake. 

"White Mountaln^ Rolls. 

Sixteen cups of flour, half cup of sugar, cup of butter, cup of 
yeast, the whites of four eggs beaten to a stiff froth, and four cups 
of boiling milk; melt the butter and sugar in the milk, have the 
milk blood warm and mix the bread, adding the whites of eggs 
after mixing in part of the flour; knead stiff and let rise in a warm 
place over night. In the morning knead into rolls and let rise till 
light; rub the beaten white of an egg over the tops of rolls, and 
bake thirty minutes. 

ViENXA Twist Rolls. 

Break pieces off dough (as prepared for common rolls) the size 
of an egg, and divide each piece into two unequal pieces, the largest 
piece form with the hands into a plain roll tapering at each end; 
lay them, thus formed, on a greased baking tin so as not to touch 
each other; flatten each a little and wash over Avith milk; divide 
the remaining pieces each into three, roll the pieces out under the 
hands into strips a little longer than the roll already made, and 
braid them; then lay each braid, as soon as formed, on top of the 
plain roll; Avhen all are made, wash over Avith milk. Bake in a hot 
oven twenty minutes — a very handsome roll for a dinner party. 

Oatmeal Rolls. , 

Sift together one-half pint oatmeal, one-half pint Graham, one 
pint flour, one teaspoonful salt, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, 
and mix with three-fourths pint milk into a smooth dough; turn 
out and give one or two quick kneadings to complete its quality; 
roll out to the thickness of half an inch, cut out with large round 
cutter, fold through the centre laying one half over on the other. 



ROLLS. 35 

lay them on a greased baking tin so tliey do not touch, wash ove? 
with milk and bake in a good hot oven fifteen minutes. 

Italian Rolls. 

Take a piece of bread dough and one-fourth the amount ol 
butter, Avork the butter thoroughly into the dough and roll out tc 
about one-half an inch in thickness; cut into strips about six inches 
long; sift over them fine corn meal, place them, separated, on a 
buttered baking tin, and when light bake in a quick oven. 

Graham Breakfast Rolls. 

Take six potatoes, boiled and pressed through a colander, one pint 
warm water, one-half cup sugar, one-half teasj)oonful salt, one-half 
cup yeast; mix into a stiff dough with Graham flour, and let rise 
over night; in the morning mold into rolls and bake when light. 

French Rolls. 

Into one pound of flour rub two ounces of butter and the whites 
of three eggs well-beaten; add a tablespoonful of good yeast, a 
little salt, and milk enough to make a stiff dough; cover and set in 
a warm place till light; cut into rolls, dip the edges into melted 
butter to keep them from sticking together, and bake in a quick 
oven. 

Tremont House Rolls. 
Take two quarts of flour, add one teaspoonfnl salt; make a hole 
in the middle and put into it one tablespoonful of sugar, butter 
about the size of an egg, one pint of boiled milk, and one teacupful 
I of yeast. Do not stir, but put them together at night, and set in 
a cool place until morning. Then mix all together and knead 
fifteen minutes. Set in a cool place again for six hours, and roll 
out about one-half an inch thick and cut with a biscuit cutter; 
moisten one edge with butter, and fold together like rolls; lay in 
the pan so that they will not touch, set for half an hour in a warm 
place to rise, and bake in a quick oven. 



36 RUSKS. 

Rosettes. 
To thi'ee eggs, the yolks beaten very light, add one quart of milk, 
a piece of butter the sizt; of an egg cut in little pieces into the milk 
and eggs, three coffee cups of flour, a little salt, three teaspoontuls 
of baking powder, and lastly the whites of the eggs beaten very 
light and stirred quickly into the mixture. Bake in a quick oven. 



RUSKS. 

Sweet Rusks. 
In one large coffee cup of warm milk dissolve one cake of com- 
pressed yeast; then add three eggs and one cup of sugar, and 
beat all together; use only flour enough to roll out, to which 
add two ounces of butter; let it rise. When very light, knead, 
mold into shape, and set in a warm place. When light, bake in a 
hot oven; when done, cover the top with sugar dissolved in milk. 

Sweet Rikks, No. 2. 
One pint of warm milk — new is best — one-half cup of butter, one 
cup of sugar, two eggs, one teaspoonful of salt, two tablesiDoonfuls 
of yeast; make a sponge with the milk, yeast, and enough flour to 
make a thin batter, and let rise over night. In the morning add the 
sugar, butter, eggs, and salt, well-beaten together, with enough 
flour to make a soft dough. Let it rise again, then make into 
round balls, and rise a third time. Bake in a moderate oven. 

Rusks. 
Half pint of sweet milk, one teacup of yeasi, two eggs; mix 
with suflicient flour for a stiff batter and raise; then add one cup of 
butter, half cup of sugar, one teaspoonful of soda, and a little nut- 
meg; let rise, and knead out into biscuits; let rise and bake. Just 
before taking out of the oven beat up the white of an egg and rub 
over the top, then sprinkle with sugar; put into the oven again for 
a moment, and serve hot. 



RUSKS. 87 

Baking Powder Rusks. 

Thorouglily mix with one quart sifted flour, two heaping tea- 
spoonfuls baking powder, and one teaspoonful salt; then mix the 
beaten yolks of three eggs with a half cup butter and one cup 
sugar; now stir up the flour prepared as above with water, making 
a dough of the proper consistency for bread; then add the eggs, 
butter and sugar, and mix all well together. Form into little cakes 
and rub the tops with sugar and water, and then sprinkJ** dry sugar 
over them and bake immediately. 

Scones. 

Thoroughly mix one quart sifted flour, two heaping te«.«?poonfuls 
baking powder; then rub into one-fourth pound butter and enough 
sweet milk to make a smooth paste; roll out the paste to one-fourth 
of an inch in thickness and cut it into triangular pieces, each side of 
which is about four inches long; put them into a greased tin and 
bake immediately in a very hot oven; when half done, brush them 
over with sweet milk. 

Scotch Scones. 

Sift together one quart flour, one teaspoonful sugar, one-half 
teaspoonful salt, two heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder; rub in 
a large tablespoonful lard cold; add two beaten egg? and nearly 
one-half pint milk; mix into a smooth dough, knead up quickly and 
roll out to one-third of an inch in thickness, cut out with a knife 
into squares larger than soda crackers, fold each in half to form 
three-cornered pieces, bake on a hot griddle eight or ten »ninutes; 
brown on each side. 

Sally Lunn, 

One quart of flour, a piece of butter the size of an egg, three 
tablespoonfuls of sugar, two eggs, two teacups of milk, two tea- 
spoonfuls of cream of tartar, one of soda, and a little salt. 3ca<tter 
the cream of tartar, the sugar and the salt into the flour; ad<t 
the eggs, the butter melted and one cup of milk; dissol^ft tha 



38 SANDWICHES. 

soda in the remaining cup, and stir all together steadily a few 
moments. Bake in two round pans. 

Sally Lunn, No. 2. 

Sift together one quart flour, one teaspoonful salt, two teaspoon- 
fuls baking powder; rub in two-thirds cup butter cold; add four 
beaten eggs, one-half pint milk; mix into a firm batter like cup 
uake, pour into two round cake tins, and bake twenty-five minutes 
in a pretty hot oven. 

Plain Short Cake. 

One quart flour, one saltspoonful salt, two heaping teaspoonfuls 
leaking powder; mix thoroughly; then add one-quarter pound 
butter, and one-eighth pound lard, and enough cold water to make 
a thick paste. Roll out about a quarter of an inch thick, and cut 
into squares; prick with a fork and bake immediately. 

Scotch Short Cake. 
Sift together one and a half pints flour, four tablespoonfuls sugar, 
one-half teaspoonful salt, a heaping teaspoonful baking powder; 
rub in four tablespoonfuls butter cold, add three beaten eggs, nearly 
one cupful milk, a teaspoonful extract of orange, or lemon; mix 
into a smooth dough without much handling, and roll out to the 
thickness of a quarter inch, and cut into shape of small envelopes; 
wash over with milk, and lay on each three thin slices of citron, 
and a few caraway seeds. Bake in a moderate oven twenty 
minutes. 



SANDWICHES. 

Ham Sandwiches. 
Take -wvill -boiled ham, one-third fat and two-thirds lean, chop it 
until it is as fine as paste, then stir in the yolk of an egg. To one 
teaspoonful mustard, mix one tablespoonful Worcestershire sauce. 
Use this or more in such proportions as you may require. 



SANDWICHES. 39 

Egg Sandwiches. 

Take slices of buttered bread and grate hard-boiled eggs on 
each slice with a coarse grater, sprinkle with pepper and salt; then 
lay two slices together. 

This sandwich may be varied by grating a layer of cold smoked 
tongue or ham over the egg on one slice and not on the other. 
These require a light and dexterous hand to keep the egg from 
being crushed. 

Sardine Sandwiches. 

Open a can of sardines, remove the skin and bones, lay bits of the 
fish on well-spread bread and butter; squeeze lemon over it; lay a 
slice of buttered bread on top. 

School Lunch Sandwiches. 

Beat three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of milk, saltspoonful of 
salt, and a dash of pepper; fry it as you would a griddle cake, and 
lay between buttered bread or biscuit, or slice hard-boiled egg» or 
nice stewed codfish left cold, and lay between slices of bread and 
butter. 

Oyster Sandwiches. 

Chop one quart raw oysters very fine, season with pepper, salt, 
a little nutmeg; mix with one-half cupful melted butter, the same 
of rich cream, whites of three eggs beaten, and eight powdered 
crackers. Heat them over steam in an oatmeal boiler or over the 
fire until a smooth paste; set away until very cold; then cut and 
lay between buttered slices of bread. 

Tongue or Ham Sandwiches. 
Chop fine the lean of cold boiled tongue or ham, season with 
prepared mustard and black pepper; add melted butter and sweet 
cream until smooth like a paste, then spread between buttered 
slices of bread. 



40 TOAST 



TOAST. 



Cream Toast. 
Take slices of stale bread, one quart of milk, three tablespoonf uls 
butter, whites of three eggs beaten stiff, salt, and three tablespoon- 
fuls flour. Toast the bread to a golden brown, have a dish half 
full of boiling water in which a tablespoonful of butter has been 
melted; as each slice is toasted dip it in this for a second and lay- 
in the deep heated dish in which it is to be served. Have ready, 
by the time the bread is all toasted, the milk scalding hot, but not 
boiling; thicken this with the flour; let simmer until cooked; put 
m the remaining butter, and when this is melted the beaten whites 
of the eggs ; boil up once and pour over the toast, lifting the slices 
that the cream may run between; cover closely; set in the oven a 
few moments before sending to the table. 

Breakfast Toast. 

Mix two tablespoonfuls of sugar, a little salt, and a well-beaten 
egg, in one-half pint of milk. In this mixture dip slices of bread 
and fry them on a buttered griddle until they are light brown on 
each side. 

Cheese and Egg Toast. 

Put a cupful of cheese crumbs into half a pint of rich milk; boil 
until it melts. Have two eggs well beaten. Season the milk with 
salt, pepper and butter to taste; turn in the eggs; stir rapidly for 
a few minutes; remove from the fire and spread it over some hot 
slices of toasted bread. Cut them in halves and quarters and serve 
on a hot platter. 

Ham Toast. 

Melt in a stew pan a small piece of butter till it is browned a 
little; put in as much finely-minced ham as will cover a round of 
buttered toast, and add gravy enough to make moist. When quite 
hot stir in quickly with a fork one egg. Plane tbe m^ixture o\^v 
the toast, which cut into pieces of any shape you may fancy. 



WAFFLES. 41 

Spanish Toast. 

Beat three eggs to a foam; toast a few slices of bakers' bread j 
dip them in the egg, and fry them to a light brown. 

Fried Bread, 
Take dry bread, dip it in hot water quickly, and lay on a hot 
pancake griddle, which has some lard or butter melted, salt; when 
nicely browned on one side, turn on the other and brown; add 
more butter when needed. Some prefer the bread dipped in egg 
first. 



WAFFLES. 

One quart of sweet milk, warm, four eggs, a piece of butter the 
size of an egg, one teaspoonful of salt, teacup of yeast, flour enough 
to make a stiff batter; let it rise three hours. Bake in waffle-irons. 

Waffles, No. 2. 

Four eggs, whites beaten separately; two tablespoonfuls short- 
ening, one quart milk, one teaspoonful soda, salt; add the whites 
last; add two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar to flour enough to make 
thin batter. 

Waffles, No. 3. 

One pint sour cream (or part milk), two eggs, one spoonful soda, 
half spoonful salt; then make same as above. 

Waffles, No. 4. 
One pint of buttermilk, flour enough to make a thin batter, one 
tablespoonful of salt, One teaspoonful of soda; mix your milk, flour 
and salt, then sift the soda over the batter; break the white of one 
egg in a plate and put the yolk in the batter; beat in well; now 
whip the white of the egg to a stiff froth and stir in thoroughly — 
do not beat it in. Have the waffle-iron smoking hot and grease 
with lard or other grease, which should be free from either vate»- 



42 WAFFLES. 

or salt, as both make the waffles stick. If the milk be veiy sour, 
use more soda to sweeten it. Sour batter will stick to the irons, too. 

Bread Waffles. 
Crusts and pieces can be put in a pitcher and milk poured over 
them; when needed, add more milk, and a little flour, to make the 
right consistency; enough soda to make sweet, salt, and make waf- 
fles, or pancakes. 

Rice Waffles. 
One and one-half cups of boiled rice, the same of flour, one cup 
sour milk, a scant teaspoonful soda, a little salt, three eggs, and 
butter the size of a walnut. 

Graham Wafers. 

Put a pinch of salt into one-half pound of Graham flour; wet it 
with one-half pint of sweet cream; mix quickly and thoroughly; 
roll out as thin as possible; cut in strips, prick, and bake in a quick 
oven. 

Sweet Wafers. 

One pint flour, one cup sugar, three eggs, one tablespoonful 
butter; flavor with lemon; mix into a batter with a little milk to 
me consistency of sponge cake, and bake in wafer-irons. 



CHAPTER III. 

CAKE. 

g^ Almond Cake. 

^j^OUR cups sifted flour, three teaspoonfuls baking powder, two 
^Hj cups powdered sugar, one cup butter, ten eggs (the yolks and 
^^ whites whipped separately, the yolks strained), one-half 
pound sweet almonds blanched and pounded, one tablespoonful 
orange-flower water, nutmeg. Beat butter and sugar until they are 
like whipped cream, add the strained yolks, rub the baking powder 
into the flour and add alternately with the whites, then the almond 
paste in which the nutmeg and orange-flower water have been 
mixed; beat well and bake as "snowballs" in small, round, rather 
deep pans, with straight sides; when done cover with almond frost- 
ing. Very rich. 

Almond Cake, No. 2. 

One and one-half cups sugar, half cup butter, four eggs, half cup 
milk, two cujjs of flour, two teaspoonfuls baking powder; bake in 
sheets. Icing — whites of three eggs beaten stiff, three tablespoon- 
fuls white sugar, one cup chopped nut meats; flavor to taste and 
put these between and on top of layers. 

Adelaide Cake. 
One cup butter, one and one-half cups sugai-, four eggs, one pint 
flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one cup dried stoned 
cherries, one-half cup milk, one teaspoonful vanilla; mix smoothly 
into a firm batter by beating the sugar, butter and eggs together, 
and adding the flour with the baking powder and the other ingredi 
ents. Bake about forty minutes. 



44 CA.KE. 

Apple Cake. 

Two eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, one and one-half 

cups sugar, scant three-fourths cup butter, half cup sweet milk, 

three cups flour, one teaspoonful cream of tartar sifted in the flour, 

')ne-half teaspoonful soda in the milk. Bake in jelly tins or cut for 

dressing. 

Dressing for Same. 

Three good sized sour apples grated, the juice and grated rind of 
one lemon, one egg beaten, one cup sugar. Cook all together three 
minutes and spread between the layers. 

Angels' Food. 
Take the whites of eleven eggs, one and one-half tumblerfuls of 
granulated sugar, one tumblerful of flour, one teaspoonful of 
vanilla, and one teaspoonful of cream of tartar; sift the flour four 
times, then add the cream of tartar, and sift again; but have the 
right measure before putting in the cream of tartar. Sift the sugar 
and measure. Beat the eggs to a stiff froth on a large platter; on 
the same platter add the sugar lightly, then the flour very gently, 
then the vanilla; do not stop beating until you put it in the pan to 
bake; bake forty minutes in a very moderate oven, try with a 
straw, and if too soft, let it remain a few minutes longer. Turn 
the pan upside down to cool, and when cold, take out by loosening 
around the sides with a knife. Use a pan that has never been 
greased, and there must be on the edge three projections of tin an 
inch or two deep, so that there will be a space between the pan 
and the table when it is turned upside down. The tumbler for 
measuring must hold two and one-quarter gills. 

Andalusia Sponge Cake. 
Three eggs, well beaten, one cup white sugar, one cup flour, and 
y one teaspoonful baking powder; flavor to suit the taste. Beat 

quickly and bake at once. 

Black Fruit Cake. 
Two pounds raisins, one pound currants, one-half pound citron. 



CAKE. 



45 



foiir cups sugar, two cups butter, one cup molasses, eight eggs, two 
teaspoonfuls soda, one wine glass brandy, five cups flour, spice to 
taste. Half of this receipt makes two small loaves. 

Bkide Cake. 
The whites of sixteen eggs beaten to a stiff froth, one pound of 
sugar, one pound of flour, one-half pound of butter. Flavor with 
almond. Mix the butter and sugar to a cream, then add the eggs, 
then the flour. 

Bride Cake, No. 2. 

One and one-lialf pounds butter, one and three-foui'ths pounds 
sugar (half New Orleans sugar), two pounds eggs well-beaten, four 
pounds raisins seeded and chopped, English currants, thoroughly 
cleaned, five pounds, citron shaved fine two pounds, sifted flour 
two pounds, two nutmegs, and an equal quantity of mace, one gill 

of alcohol, in which are put fif- 
teen drops of oil of lemon. Cut 
the butter in pieces and put it 
where it will soften; stir it to 
a cream, then add the sugar 
and work till white; next beat 
the yolks of the eggs, and add 
them to the sugar and butter; 
have the whites beaten to a 
stiff froth and add them to 
;the mixture, then the spices 
'and flour, and last of all the 
fruit except the citron, which 
is to be put in in about three layers, one an inch from the bottom, 
one an inch from the top, and one between; smooth the top of 
the cake by putting on a spooonfid of water. Bake three or four 
hours. 

Bread Cake. 
Four cups light dough, two cups sugar, one cup butter, three 
eggs, one cup raisins, a little nutmeg, one-half teaspoonful cloves, 




46 CAKE. 

ihe same of cinnamon, one-lialf teaspoonful soda, dissolved in hot 
water. Let it rise a short time before baking, then put in the 
raisins and bake in a very slow oven. 

Black Cake. 
Two cups brown sugar, one cup butter, one cup molasses, one 
cup sour milk, in which dissolve one teaspoonful soda, the yolks c^ 
flight eggs, four cups of browned flour, and spice to your taste. 

Bridgeport Cake. 

One cup butter, two cups brown sugar, one cup sour milk, three, 
and one-half cups flour, four eggs, one teaspoonful saleratus, one 
cup raisins, spice and one glass l)randy. 

Butternut Cake. 

One and one-half cups sugar, one-half cup butter, two cups flour, 
three-fourths cup sweet milk, one cup meats of nuts, whites of four 
eg^^y and two teaspoonf uls baking powder. 
Boston Cream Cake. 

One-half pint water, one-fourth pound butter, six ounces flour, 
five eggs. Boil the butter and water together, adding the flour 
while they are boiling; when thoroughly stirred take it from the 
fire; when it is cold add the eggs, one at a time, beating the 
mixture until it is entirely free from lumps. Wet the baking par 
with a little soda water, drop the mixture onto the pan by spoon 
fuls. Bake twenty minutes in a hot oven; avoid opening the over 
door while baking. When the cakes are cool, open them on one 
side and fill with the following mixture: One cup sugar, one-half 
cup flour, two eggs, and one pint milk. Beat the eggs, sugar, and^ 
flour together, and stir them into the milk while it is boiling, stir 
ring constantly until it thickens; when cold, flavor to suit the taste 

Cocoanut Cake. 

Two beaten eggs, one cup sugar, rolled fine, one-third cup butter, 
one-half cup milk, two cups flour, sifted with two teaspoonf uls 
baking powder. Bake in layei's and put together with frosting 



CAKE. 47 

and a layer of desiccated cocoanut which has been previously 
soaked in milk; frost the top of the cake and sprinkle thickly with 
the cocoanut. 

Cocoanut Cake, No. 2. 
One cup butter, three cups sugar, whites of six eggs, four and 
one-half cups sifted flour, two and one-half teaspoonfuls baking 
powder, one grated cocoanut, and one cup milk. Rub the butter 
and sugar to a cream, add the \vhites of the eggs, then the milk; mix 
the baking powder with the flour by sifting. After all are mixed 
together put in the cocoanut, mixing thoroughly, and bake imme- 
diately. This cake will keep for some time, retaining its freshness 

Chocolate Cake. 
One-half cup butter, two cups sugar, four eggs, one cup sweel 
milk, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, one teasjioonful soda, one 
teasi^oonful vanilla. Bake in layers. 

Paste for Same. — One-half cake chocolate warmed in the oven 
ten minutes, one heaping teaspoonful white sugar, one teaspoon- 
ful cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful ground cloves, a pinch of ginger, 
and two teaspoonfuls vanilla. Pour a little water on the sugar, put 
it on the chocolate, heat on the stove and put in the spice when 
boiled. 

Corn Starch Cake. 

Take whites of three eggs, one cup white sugar, one-third cup 
butter, one-half cup milk, one cup flour, one cup corn starch, one 
teaspoonful soda and two of cream of tartar; flavor with lemon or 
vanilla. 

Corn Starch Cafe, No. 2. 

Whites of six eggs, beaten to a stiff froth, one cup butter, two 
cups sugar, one cup sweet milk, one cup corn starch, tAvo cups 
flour, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, one teaspoonful soda; flavor 
to suit the tastCo 



48 CAKE. 

Coffee Cake. 
Take two eggs, well beaten, one-half cup butter, one-half cup 
sugar, one cup molasses, one cup strong cold coffee, one teaspoonf ul 
cinnamon, one teaspoonful cloves, one teaspoonful allspice, one 
teaspoonful soda stirred into the molasses, one cup of raisins, flour 
to make of the consistency of pound cake. 

Chocolate Eclairs. 
Make a batter as for " Boston Cream Cake," form it with a spoon 
on the baking pan into long narrow cakes, leaving a space between; 
when baked and cold make an opening in the side and put in the 
cream, which must also be cold. Make the cream as follows: 
Break, dissolve, and mix smoothly one ounce of chocolate with three 
tablespoonf uls warm water in a bowl ; set over a boiling tea-kettle, 
add gradually a cup of milk and leave it to scald; beat one egg and 
add to it one-half cup of sugar, and two tablespoonf uls corn starch; 
mix well and stir into the scalded milk, then put the whole into the 
bowl over the boiling water, and stir till it is much thicker than 
boiled custard; add a very little salt and half a teaspoonful of 
vanilla; after filling the cakes with the custard, frost with hot 
icmg with two ounce« of chocolate dissolved in it. Vrost the top 
only. 

Charlotte Cachee. 
One thick loaf of sponge or plain cup cake, two kinds of fruit- 
jelly, tart and sweet, whites of five eggs, one heaping cup of pow- 
dered sugar, juice of one lemon. Cut the cake into horizontal slices 
of uniform width; spread each with jelly — first the tart, then the 
sweet — and fit into their former places; ice thickly with a frosting 
made of the whites, sugai-, and lemon-juice; set in a sunny windo'W 
or slow oven, to harden. The former is the better plan. 

Cider Cake. 
One cup of sugar, half cup of butter, one egg, well-beaten, one 
large cup of cider, one teaspoonful of soda, flour sufiicient to make 



CAKE. 49 

it as thick as pound cake. One cup of raisins can be added if 
desired. 

Cake Without Eggs. 

One cup butter, three cups sugar, one pint sour milk or cream, 
three cups flour, one pound raisins, one teaspoonful saleratus; spice 
to taste. 

Cream Puffs. 

Melt one-half cup of butter in a cup of hot water, and while 
boiling beat in one cup of flour. Take it from the fire and when 
cool stir in three eggs, one at a time, without beating them. Drop 
the mixture on tins in small spoonfuls and bake in a moderate oven. 

Custard for the Filling. — One and one-half cups of milk, two 
eggs, four tablespoonfuls of flour, sugar to the taste, and flavor 
with vanilla. Beat up the eggs and sugar and stir in the milk with 
the flavoring, and when it comes to a boil stir in the flour, previ- 
ously mixed smooth in a little milk. Cool and fill the puffs by- 
opening them a very little. 

Citron Cake. 

One cup of butter, two of sugar, three of flour, four eggs, one 
cup of milk, one teaspoonful of soda, two of cream of tartar, and a 
pinch of salt Make the cake as above, put in the pan, cut the 
sitron thin and put in the cake endways; push down until the 
6atter covers the citron, and this will prevent the citron from falling 
to the bottom of the pan. 

Cream Cake. 
, Three eggs, one cup of sugar, one cup of flour, one teaspoonful 
})f baking powder, one-half cup of sweet cream. Bake like jelly 
eake. Put one cup of pulverized white sugar into one-half cup of 
very thick sweet cream, and spread between the cakes; flavor both 
the cake and cream to suit taste. This is delicious. 
Chocolate Cake, No. 2. 

One cup white sugar, one-half cup sweet milk, one-half cup 
meltjed butter, whites of four eggs beaten stiff, one and one-half 



50 



CAKE. 



cups Hour, with three teaspoonfuls of baking powder sifted in. 
Bake, on three tins. Take whites of two eggs and make a frosting 
as for any other cake; add one teaspoonful vanilla and two-thirds 
cake of German sweet chocolate grated. Spread between layers 
but not on the top one. Take white of one egg to ice the top and 
sides. Do not frost the cake until cool. The same cake recij^e may 
be used for cocoanut. 

Christmas Cake. 
Take five pounds of flour, mix with it a dessert-spoonful of salt, 
^a\> in three-quarters of a pound of butter and one pound of lard. 

Put in half a pint of good 
fresh brewers' yeast, and 
knead as for common bread. 
If there is any difficulty 
about the yeast, baking pow- 
der may be used, allowing 
a heaped teasi^oonful of ordi- 
nary baking poM'der for every 
pound of material. If yeast 
is used, let the dough rise 
before adding the other in- 
Chbistmas Cake. gredicuts. Mix in three 

pounds of currants, one and one-half pounds of moist sugar, a 
whole nutmeg, a quarter of a pound of candied lemon peel finely 
minced, ft tablespoonful of brandy, and four eggs, well-beaten. 
Butter the mold and bake in a moderate oven for about two 




CiNNAMOx Cake. 
Three-foui-ths of a cup of butter, a cup of white sugar, one and 
one-half cups flour, four eggs (yolks and whites beaten separately), 
a tablespoonful of sweet milk, one and one-half teaspoonf uls baking 
powder, lemon, and a little salt. Rub the baking powder into the 
flour. 



CAKE. 51 

CixxAMON Cake. 
One cup sour cream, one cup sugar, one-half cup melted butter, 
one egg, one-half teaspoonful soda. Mix as for cookies, roll out, 
and spread ground cinnamon over the toj^; then roll up as a roil 
jelly cake and slice off with a sharp knife and bake. Any good 
cookie recipe will do. 

Cup Cake. 

Rub to a cream one cup of butter and two cups of sugar, add 
four beaten eggs, and three cups of flour, into which one and one- 
half teaspoonf uls of baking powder have been sifted, season with 
extract of almonds; mix into a smooth batter and bake in well- 
greased cups or mufiin pans. 

CocoAxuT Pound Cake. 

Beat half a pound of butter to a cream; add gradually one pound 
of powdered sugar, four well-beaten eggs, one pound of flour sifted 
with two tablespoonfuls baking powder, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon- 
ful of grated lemon peel, one-fourth pound of prepared cocoanut, 
and a cup of milk; mix thoroughly, butter the tins, and line them 
with buttered paper; pour the mixture in to the depth of one and 
one-half inches, and bake in a good oven; wlien baked spread icing 
over them. Return the cake to the oven a moment to dry the icing. 

Clove Cake. 

One pound of brown sugar, one pound of flour, one pound of 
raisins, one-half pound of butter, one cup of milk, two large tea- 
spoonfuls of baking powder stirred well into the flour, one table- 
spoonful of cloves, one tablespoonful cinnamon, one tablespoonful 
of nutmeg, four eggs; chop the raisins. For less quantity divide 
proportionately. 

Delicate Cake. 

One and one-half cups of granulated sugar, one cup of butter, 
two-thirds cup of milk, whites of six eggs beaten to a stiff froth, 
three even cups of flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder pif 



62 CAKE. 

in the flour and mixed; stir butter and sugar well together, to them 
add the milk, then pixt in the flour, and last add the beaten eggs; 
flavor with lemon. Stir the whole mixture well. 

Delicious Cake. 
Two cups of white sugar, one cup of butter, one cup milk, three 
eggs, one teaspoonful soda, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, three 
cups of sifted flour. Stir butter and sugar together, then add the 
beaten yolks of the eggs, then the beaten whites; dissolve the soda 
in the milk, nib the cream of tartar into the flour and add; flavor 
with extract of bitter almond. 

Drop Cake. 
One pound of sugar, three-fourths of a pound of butter, one and 
one-fourth pounds flour, five eggs. To be dropped by the table- 
spoonful on buttered pans and baked. 

Dough Cake. 
Two cujjs light dough, two cups sugar, one cup butter, half cup 
milk, two eggs, one and a half cups flour, one teaspoonful soda, one 
cuj) raisins; flavor with nutmeg and cinnamon. 

Dover Cake. 

Rub to a cream one cup of butter and two cups of sugai-, add six 
eggs, two at a time, beating five minutes between each addition, 
one cup of milk, one and one-half pints of flour, sifted with two 
teaspoonfuls baking powder; season with one teaspoonful each of 
extract of cinnamon and orange; bake in rather hot oven forty 
minutes. 

Dundee Cake. 

Whip to a cream one and one-half cups of butter and the same 
amount of sugar; add eight eggs, two at a time, beating five minutes 
between each addition, one-half cup of cream or milk, one and one- 
half pints of flwir, sifted with two teaspoonfuls baking powder, 
one-half of a lemon peel cut in thin slices, one cup of washed, 
picked, and dried currants, one and one-half cups sultana raisins, 



CAKE. 53 

one teaspoonful each of extract nutmeg, cloves, and vanilla; mix 
into a firm batter, pour into a shallow, square cake pan; chop one 
cup of almonds coarsely and sprinkle over the top; then bake one 
hour in a moderate oven. 

Dried Apple Cake, 

Two cups of dried apples, chopped fine and soaked in water over 
night, then cook in one cup of molasses until soft; add one cup 
each of butter, sugar, and sour milk, two teaspoonfuls of soda, one 
teaspoonful each of cinnamon, cloves and lemon extract, one nut- 
meg. A cup of raisins may be added. Bake in a greased cake 
dish in a moderate oven. Flour for stiff batter. 

Election Cake. 

Beat one and one-half cups of butter and two cups of sugar to a 
"white, light cream ; add three eggs, beating a little longer, one and 
one-half pints of flour sifted with two teaspoonfuls baking powder, 
two cups of raisins, stoned, one cup of currants well cleaned, one- 
half cup chopped citron, one-half of a lemon peel, chopped, one-half 
cup of almonds, blanched and cut into shreds, one teaspoonful each 
of extract of vanilla and of bitter almonds, one cup of milk; mix 
into a consistent batter, put into a paper-lined tin and bake in a 
moderate, steady oven one and one-half hours. 

Everyday Fruit Cake. 
One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, two cups of sour milk, two 
cups of raisins, five cups of flour, one teaspoonful saleratus, salt, 
cinnamon, cloves, citron and wine to suit the taste. 

Egoless Cake. 
One and one-half cups of sugar, one cup of sour milk, three level 
cups of flour, one-half cup of butter, one teaspoonful of soda, one- 
half teaspoonful of cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful of grated nut- 
meg, and one cup of chopped raisins. 

English Christmas Cake. 
Sift five pounds of flour; mix with it one tablespoonful of salt, 



64 CAKE. 

one and one-half pounds of butter and half a pint of fresh brewer's 
yeast, or five teaspoonfuls of baking powder; if yeast is used, allow 
dough to rise before adding other ingredients; mix in three pounds 
of washed currants, one and one-half pounds of " A " sugar, one 
nutmeg grated, one-fourth pound of chopped candied lemon peel, 
one wine glass of brandy, and four well-beaten eggs; butter the 
tins and line them with buttered paper; bake in a moderate oven 
for two hours. The quantity of brandy recommended will serve to 
keep these cakes fresh for an indefinite time. 

Fruit Cake from Dough. 

Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one pint of dough, two 
eggs, one teaspoonful of soda, as much fruit as you wish, spices to 
suit the taste; use flour enough to make as stiff as common fruit 
cake; set in a warm place to raise. When light bake in a moderate 
oven. 

Fruit Cake. 

One pound of sugar, one pound of butter, one pound of flour, 
eight eggs, two pounds of raisins, one pound of currants, one-fourth 
pound of citron, one tablespoonful of molasses, one cup of sour 
milk, one teaspoonful of soda, and spices of all kinds. Bake two 
hours in a moderate oven. 

Fruit Cake, No. 2. 
One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, three and a half cups of 
flour, one cup of molasses, one cup of cream, four eggs, one pound 
of raisins, citrons and currants according to taste, one teaspoonful 
of saleratus, spice to taste. Warranted to keep a year. 

Fruit Jelly Cake. 
Two cups of sugar, two-thirds cup of butter, same of sweet milk, 
four eggs, three cups of flour, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder; 
stir together, then divide into three equal pai-ts. Into one part stir 
one tablespoonful of molasses, one cup of chopped raisins, one tea- 
spoonful each of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bake, and put 
together with jelly or frosting. 



CAKE. 65 

Favorite Lemon Jelly Cake. 

Take two cups of sugar, one-half cup of butter, one cup of milk, 
three eggs, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one teaspoonful of 
soda, three cups of flour; mix and bake in line, thin layers. For 
the jelly grate the rind of three small or two large lemons and add 
the juice of the same with one cup of sugar, one egg, one cup of 
water, one teaspoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of flour; mix 
with a little water and boil till it thickens, then place between the 
layers of the cake. Make before needed for use. 

Fig Cake. 

Three cups of sugar, one cup each of butter and sweet milk, four 
cups of flour, two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, twelve beaten 
eggs; bake in layers. Take one pound of figs, boil till smooth 
and put between each layer with or without frosting. Frost 
the top. 

Fig Cake, No. 2. 

A large cup of butter, two and one-half cups of sugar, one cuj) of 
sweet milk, three pints of sifted flour, with three teaspoonfuls of 
baking jiowder, the whites of sixteen eggs, one and one-fourth 
pounds of figs cut into strips like citron and well floured. 

French Loaf Cake. 

Two cups of sugar, half cup of butter, one-half cup of sweet milk, 
teaspoonful of soda, two of cream of tartar, three eggs, three cups of 
flour; flavor with lemon. 

Feather Cake. 

Beat to a cream one-half cup of butter, add to it two cups of 
sugar and beat well together; one cup of milk with one teaspoonful 
of soda dissolved in it; beat well together; then add one cup of sifted 
flour with two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar previously rubbed 
into it ; add next the well-beaten yolk of three eggs, beat the whites 
separately until stiff, add them and then two more cups of flour; 



66 CAKE. 

beat well between each successive addition; butter two middle-sized 
tins, put in the cake and bake for twenty minutes or half an hour 
in a moderate oven. 

Feather Cake, No. 2. 
One cup of white sugar, one teaspoonful of melted butter, one 
egg, two-thirds cup of milk, two even cups of sifted flour, two even 
teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one of soda; flavor with lemon; sift 
cream of tartar and soda into the flour. You will be surprised when 
you come to make this cake, it is so delicious. 

Gold Cake. 
The yolks of eight eggs, two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, 
one-half cup of sweet milk, three cups of flour, two teaspoonfuls of 
baking powder; flavor with orange extract. 

Gentleman's Favorite. 

Seven eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, two cups of 
sugar and one-half cup of butter worked to a cream, one table- 
Spoonful of water, two teasj^oons, level full, of baking powder, two 
cups of flour, one-half teaspoonful of salt; bake in jelly-cake tins. 

Jelly for Same. — One egg, one cup of sugar, three grated apples 
without the peelings, one lemon; stir till it thickens. Cool before 
using. 

Ginger Drop Cake. 

Two cups of sugar, one cup of New Orleans molasses, one cup of 
butter, six cups of flour, one cup of hot water, two teaspoonfuls of 
soda, one teaspoonful of ginger, and one of cinnamon. Drop in 
hot tins and bake in a hot oven. 

Gingerbread Loaf. 
One cup of butter, one of molasses, one of sugar, half of cold 
water, one tablespoonful of ginger, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, 
one of soda dissolved in boiling water; melt the butter, slightly 
warm the molasses, spice and sugar, and heat together ten minutes; 
then put in the water, soda and flour; stir very hard and bake in 
three loaves. Brush them over with syrup while hot, and eat fresh. 



CAKE. 57 

Ginger-Bread. 
One pint of molasses, one glass of sour milk or cream, one table- 
spoonful of soda, one-half pint of melted lard; put the soda into 
the milk and molasses and beat to a foam. Make the dough very- 
soft. 

Soft Ginger-Bread. 

One cup of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of sour cream, one 
cup of New Orleans molasses, four cups of sifted flour, one table- 
spoonful of ginger, one teaspoonful of soda, the grated rind of one 
lemon, three eggs, well beaten; stir the butter and sugar together, 
then add eggs, milk and flour. 

Soft Ginger-Bread, No. 2. 

One coffeecup each of sugar, molasses, and butter, four cups of 
flour, one cup of sour milk, two large teaspoonfuls of ginger, two 
teaspoonfuls of cinnamon, one-half teaspoonful of cloves, one tea- 
spoonful of saleratus dissolved in the sour milk; stoned raisins may 
be added. Bake in sponge-calce tins. 

Ginger Cup Cake. 
Mix two cups of powdered sugar with two cups of warmed 
butter; add three well-beaten eggs, a cup of molasses, four heaping 
cups of flour, a tablespoonful of fresh-ground ginger, one teaspoon 
ful of dissolved saleratus; mix thoroughly and pour into buttered 
molds or patty pans; bake in a moderate oven. 

Groom's Cake. 
Ten eggs beaten separately, one pound each of butter, white 
sugar, and flour, two pounds of almonds blanched and chopped fine, 
one pound of seeded raisins, one-half pound of citron shaved fine; 
beat the butter to a cream, add the sugar gradually, then the well- 
beaten yolks; stir all till very light, then add the chopped almonds; 
beat the whites stiff and add gently with the flour; take a little 
more flour and sprinkle over the raisins and citron, then put in the 
cake pan, first a layer of cake batter, then a layer of raisins and 



58 CAKE. 

citron, then cake, and so on until all is used, finishing off with a 
layer of cake. Bake in moderate oven two hours. 
Graham Cup Cake. 
Rub to a light cream tw -thirds cup of butter and one cup of 
sugar; add two beaten ggs, one-half cup of cream, two cups of 
Graham flour, one heaping teaspoonf ul of baking powder, one tea- 
spoonful of extract of lemon; mix into a moderately thin batter; 
bake in well-greased cups, or muffin pans, in a moderate oven. 

Hickory-nut Cake. 
Two cups of white sugar, one-half cup of butter, three cups of 
flour, three-fourths cup of sweet milk, one-half teaspoonful of soda 
dissolved in the milk, one teaspoo ful of cream of tartar put into 
the flour, the whites of eight eggs. Just before baking add two 
cups of hickory-nut meats. 

Hickory-nut Drop Cake. 
Whites of six eggs beaten to a stiff froth; add one pound of 
rolled sugar, one up of hickory-nut meats, one teaspoonful of 
baking powder, with flour to stiffen so as to drop. Drop by spoon- 
fuls on a buttered tin and bake in a quick oven. 

Huckleberry Cake. 
Rub together one cup of butter and two cups of sugar; add four 
beaten eggs, one and one-half pints of flour sifted with two tea- 
spoonfuls baking powder, ne up of milk, two cups of huckle- 
berries, one teaspoonful each oi extract of cinnamon, cloves and 
allspice; put in a paper-lined bake tin and bake in a quick oven 
fifty minutes. 

Honey Cake. 

Mix together one cup of honey and one cup of sugar; add one- 
half cup of melted butter, two beaten eggs, one pint flour sifted 
with two teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one teaspoonful of cara- 
way seeds. Mix into a smooth batter and bake in a hot oven 
thirty minutes. 



CAKE. 59 

Ijiperial Cake. 
One pound each of sugar and flour, three-fourths pound of butter, 
one pound of ahnonds blanched and cut fine, one-half pound of 
citron, one-half pound of raisins, the rind and juice of one lemon, 
one nutmeg and ten eggs. 

Ice-Cream Cake. 
To the whites of five eggs, lightly beaten, add two cups of sugar, 
one cup of butter, one cup of milk, three cups of flour, and three 
teaspoonfuls of baking powder; bake in thin layers and use as a 
cream, to spread between, two and a half cups of sugar and one- 
half cup of water boiled together; beat the whites of three eggs to 
a stiff froth, and when the syrup will hair, pour it into the whites 
and stir as fast as possible; flavor with lemon or vanilla and spread 
between the layers and over the top. 

Jelly Cake. 

Beat to a cream three-fourths cup of butter and two cups of 
sugar; add five eggs, two at a time, beating five minutes between 
each addition, one and one-fourth pints of flour sift?d with one and 
one-half teaspoonfuls of baking powder, one cup of milk; mix to a 
smooth batter and bake in jelly-cake tins; spread with currant or 
other fruit jelly. 

Jelly Rolls. 

One cup of sugar, one cup of flour, three eggs, one teaspoonful 
baking powder. Stir well and spread thin on a long baking tin or 
dripping pan. Bake quickly, turn out on a cloth, spread with jelly 
and roll up. 

Kaffee Kuchen, 

One pound light raised dough, one ounce of sugar and three of 
butter, one egg; cream the butter and beat well with the sugar and 
the egg; add the dough and mix thoroughly with the hand; put it 
in a warm place to rise; when light, pour it in a small dripping pan 
(when baked it should not be more than two-thirds of an inch thick) 



60 



CAKE 



and let it stand ten or fifteen minutes; put in the oven and while 
baking prepare this icing: 

Blanch two almonds and shred them; add to the beaten whites 
of two eggs one cup of sugar; stir in the almonds, and when the 
cake is baked cover it Avith the icing and dry in the oven. The 
almonds may be browned a little if liked, 

Knickerbocker Cake. 

Beat one-half pound of fresh butter to a cream; add one-half 
pound of powdered sugar, three-fourths pound of sifted flour, a 
tablespoonful of orange-flour water, and one of brandy, and four 
ounces of washed currants; add five well-beaten eggs, and beat the 
mixture until very light. Line some shallow cake tins with but- 
tered paper, pour in the mixture until they are one-half full, and 
bake in a quick oven. 

Lemon Cake. 

Five eggs beaten with three cups of sugar and one of butter, one 
cup of milk, five cups of sifted flour, one lemon rind grated, half a 
teaspoonful soda dissolved well in the milk, and one teaspoonful of 
cream of tartar in the flour; after all is well beaten, add the juice 
of the lemon and bake immediately. 

Lemon Cake, No. 2. 
To four well-beaten eggs, add two cups sugar, two tablespoonf uls 
butter, one-half cup of milk, two cups of flour sifted with two tea- 
spoonfuls of baking powder; bake in jelly tins and put together 
with a frosting made of the white of one egg, the juice and grated 
rind of one lemon, and sugar enough to stiffen. 

Lemon Jelly Cake. 

Beat together two eggs, one cup of sugar, one-third cup of butter, 
one-half cup milk, two cups flour sifted, with a heaping teaspoonful 
baking powder; bake in jelly-cake tins. 

Jelli/ for Same. — Two-thirds cup of water, one cup sugar, the 
juice and grated rind of one lemon; mix together and let boil; then 



CAKE. 61 

stir in two well-beaten eggs. When cold, spread between the 
layers of cake; also upon the top, or the top may be frosted. 

Lady Cake. 
Rub to a cream two-thirds cup of butter and three cups of sugar; 
add one cup of milk, one pint flour, one-half teaspoonful of baking 
powder, one teaspoonful extract of bitter almond; then add the 
whites of eight eggs whipped to a froth; when thoroughly mixed, 
put into a paper-lined tin and bake in a steady oven forty minutes. 
When cool, ice the bottom and sides ^vith white icing. 

Lunch Cake. 

Beat thoroughly two cups of butter and two cups of sugar; add 
two cups of egg well beaten, one and one-half pints of flour sifted 
with a heaping teaspoonful baking powder, one gill of wme, one 
teaspoonful each of extract of rose, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix into 
a smooth batter and bake in a moderate oven one hour; when cold, 
ice with white icing. 

Light Cake. 

Beat six eggs, yolks and whites separately; beat with the yolks 
one pound white sugar, and three-fourths pound of butter; add one 
pound of flour sifted with a teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and one 
cup sweet milk with one-half teaspoonful of soda, one pound raisins, 
a little citron, and lemon peel, then the whites of the eggs beaten 
to a froth. Bake in a paper-lined cake tin one hour in a moderate 
oven. 

Loaf Cake. 

Six cups of bread dough, five eggs, three cups of sugar, one cup 
of butter, two teaspoonfuls of ground cloves and cinnamon mixed, 
and half of a nutmeg, one and one-half pounds of raisins. Bake in 
a moderate oven. 

Marbled Cake. 

Light part: One and one-half cups of white sugar, one-half cup 
of butter, one-half cup of sweet milk, one half teaspoonful of soda, 



62 CAKE. 

one teaspoonful cream of tartar sifted with two and one-half cups 
flour, whites of four eggs; beat and mix thoroughly. 

Dark part: One cup of brown sugar, one-half cup of butter, one- 
half cup of sour milk, one-half teaspoonful of soda, two and one- 
half cups of flour, yolks of four eggs, one-half teaspoonful each of 
cloves, allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg. 

With a spoon drop the two batters alternately into a papered 

cake-tin. 

Mountain Cake. 

One cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter, one-half cup of sweet 
milk, one-half cup of corn starch, one cup of flour, whites of six 
eggs, a little vanilla, two teaspoonfuls baking jDowder. Bake in 
layers. 

Frosting for Above. — Whites of five eggs, twenty tablespoon- 
fuls sifted sugar, beaten very light, and a little vanilla. Spread 
between layers and on the outside of the cake» 

Madeira Cake. 
Beat together two and one-half cups of butter and two cups of 
sugar; add seven well-beaten eggs, one and one-half pints flour 
sifted with one heaping teaspoonful baking powder; mix with one 
gill of Madeira wine into a smooth batter and bake in a paper-lined 
cake-tin in a steady oven about one hour, and ice with transparent 

icing. 

Molasses Cake. 

Beat together one cup of butter and one cup of brown sugar; add 

one-half cup of molasses, one cup of milk, one egg, one and one-half 

pints of flour sifted with one and one-half teaspoonfuls of baking 

powder; mix into a consistent batter and bake about forty minutes. 

Molasses Cake. 
Beat together one-half cup of sugar, a piece of butter the size of 
an egg, and one egg', add one-half cup of molasses, one-half cup of 
sour milk, one-half teaspoonful of soda, two cups of flour, sifted, 
spices to suit the taste, and a cup of chopped raisins. Bake in a 
moderate oven. 



CAKE. 63 

Marbled Chocolate Cake. 
One cup of butter, tw^o cups of sugar, three cups of flour, four 
well-beaten eggs, one cup of milk, two teaspoonfuls of baking 
powder; take out one cup of this batter and mix with four table- 
spoonfuls of chocolate dissolved with a little cream; cover the 
bottom of the pan witli the white batter and drop upon it in places 
a spoonful of the chocolate, forming rings, then another layer of 
the batter, and so on until all is used. Bake in a moderate oven, 

MoRETON Farm Cake, 
Two pounds of butter, softened throughout, but not melted; add 
two pounds of nice, white, soft sugar, and mix together until 
creamed; take out one-lialf and reserve it in a separate l)owl until 
wanted. To the rest add one quart of pretty warm, sweet milk; 
stir in gradually four pounds of flour, then mix in very thoroughly 
a teacupful of lively, home-made yeast. Let it stand in a M'arm 
place until very light, which will take about four hours; then add 
the remainder of the butter and sugar, and a little more flour i^ 
needed; add two pounds of raisins nicely stoned, a little pulverized 
mace, and, if at hand, some candied lemon peel; let it rise again, 
and when well raised mix it well, using the hands, and proportion 
it off into well-buttered pans; let them stand in a moderately warm 
place until beginning to rise; put them into a steady oven and bake 
them fully an hour, or longer if only one or two pans are used. 
There are no eggs used in this cake — none are needed. It is an 
excellent cake for economical housekeepers to make in winter, when 
eggs are scarce and high-priced. If the top and sides are frosted 
it will keep moist for a long time. Brown paper is nice to wrap 
cake in before putting it into the cake box. 

Nut Cake, 
One cup of butter, two cups of white sugar, four cups of flour, 
one cup of sweet milk, the whites of eight eggs, three teaspoonfuls 
of baking powder, and two cups of chopped nut meats. 



64 CAKE. 

Nut Cake, No. 2, 
Two eggs, one cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter; beat together 
and add one-half cup of sweet milk, one and one-half cups of sifted 
flour, two teaspoonfuls baking powder, one large cup of chopped 
walnuts; frost when baked; mark in squares and put half a nut 
meat on each square. 

White Nut Cake. 

Whites of twelve eggs beaten to a froth, one cup of butter, two 
cups of sugar, three and one-half cups of flour, teaspoonful of yeast 
powder. After the butter is well mixed add one large cocoanut, 
grated; one large tumblerful of the kernels of jDecans, and one 
tumblerful of blanched almonds, the almonds to be slightly- 
mashed in a mortar. 

Neapolitan Cake. 

Black: Take one cup of butter, two cups of brown sugar, one 
cup of molasses, one cup of strong coffee, four and a half cups of 
sifted flour, four eggs, two teaspoonfuls of soda, two of cinnamon, 
two of cloves, one of mace, one pound of raisins, one of currants, 
and a quarter of a pound of citron. 

White: One cup of butter, four cups of white sugar, two cups 
of sweet milk, two cups corn-starch mixed with four and-a-half 
cups of sifted flour, whites of eight eggs, two tablespoonfuls of 
baking powder, one-half teaspoonful of extract of bitter almonds. 
Bake the cakes in round jelly pans with straight edges; the 
loaves should be one and a-half inches thick after baking. When 
the cake is cold, each black loaf should be spread with a thick coat- 
ing of lemon and sugar, made as follows: The white of one egg 
thoroughly beaten, the grated rind of two and the juice of three 
lemons; powdered sugar enough to make a thick frosting; lay a 
white loaf on each black one and frost as you would any other cake. 

Lady Fingers. 

Rub half a pound of butter into a pound o£ flour; add half a 
pound of sugar; grate in the rind of two lemons, and squeeze in the 



CAKE. 65 

juice of one; then add three eggs; make into a roll the size of the 
middle finger; it will spread in the oven to the size of a thin cake; 
dip in chocolate icing. 

Orange Cake. 

Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, 
three cups of flour, yolks of two eggs and whites of five, three tea- 
spoonfuls baking powder, grated peel and juice of one orange. 
Bake in four layers. 

Filling.— Whites of three eggs, juice of one orange, fifteen table- 
spoonfuls of sugar. Beat together, spread between the layers and 
on the outside of cake. Pare and divide in small sections two 
oranges and put on top of cake. 

Orange Cake, No. 2. 
Three eggs, one tablespoonful of butter, one and a-half cups of 
sugar, two cups of flour, with two teaspoonfuls of baking powder 
sifted with the flour, one-half cup of rich milk, a veiy little salt, 
orange juice, or some extract of lemon. Bake on jelly-cake tins. 

Jelly for Orange CaJce. — Take two good oranges, grate a part of 
the rind of one, then peel them and grate them all; remove the 
seeds and add one cup of sugar, two tablespoonfuls of water, and 
scald in a tin pail set in a kettle of hot water. Take one table- 
spoonful of corn starch, mix smooth with a few spoonfuls of cold 
water and stir into the orange and cook just enough to cook the 
corn starch; when nearly or quite cold, beat the whites of two 
eggs and add powdered sugar for frosting; leave out a little of 
this for the top of the cake if you like, and stir the rest into the 
orange, and you Avill have a jelly that will not run off or soak into 
the cake. 

Perfection Cake. 

Three cups of sugai-, three cups of flour, one cup of butter, one 
cup of milk, one cup of corn starch, the whites of twelve Qg^ 
beaten to a stiff froth. Before sifting the flour put in three tea- 
spoonfuls of baking powder; sift all together. Dissolve the corn 

5 



66 CAKE. 

starch in the milk and add it to tlie l>utter and sugar well beaten 
together; then add the flour and whites of the eggs. Never beat 
in a tin dish. 

Pork Cake. 
Take one pound fat salt jjork free from lean or rind, chop as fine 
as to be almost like lard, pour upon it one-half pint of boilino- 
water; add two cups of sugar, one cup of molasses, one teaspoonful 
of soda stirred into the molasses, one pound of raisins, one-fourth 
pound of citron shaved fine; stir in sifted flour enough to make of 
the consistency of common cake batter; season with one spoonful 
each of nutmeg and cloves and two teaspoonfuls cinnamon. Bake 
in a moderate oven, 

Portuguese Cake, 
Beat together one and one-half cups of butter and four cups of 
sugar, add eight eggs, two at a time, beating five minutes between 
each addition, one pint flour sifted with a heaping teaspoonful of 
baking powder, three cups of almonds blanched and pounded to a 
paste with a little water, one cup of seedless raisins, one cup of 
currants; season with nutmeg; mix into a batter and bake in a 
well-papered tin in a steady oven for one and one-half hours. 

Puff Cake, 
Two cups of sugar, three eggs, one cup of butter, one cup of 
sweet milk, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, one teaspoonful of 
Boda, and three cups of flour. Bake in a quick oven. 

Pine-Apple Cake, 
One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of milk, three cups 
of flour, whites of six eggs and yolks of four, three teaspoonfuls of 
baking powder well mixed through flour; bake in jelly-cake pans; 
grate a pine-apple; spi'inkle Avith sugar, spread between the layers; 
pine-apple jam may be substituted; frost the outside; beat two 
tablespoonfuls of the pine-apple into the frosting. 



CAKE. 67 

Pound Cake without Soda. 
One pound of powdered sugar, one-half pound of butter, eight 
eggs, whites and yolks, beaten separately and well, ten ounces flour, 
one nutmeg. Bake one hour. 

CocoANUT Pound Cake. 
Beat one-half pound of butter to a cream; add gradually one 
pound of sugar, one pound of flour sifted with two teaspoonfuls of 
bakino- powder, a pinch of salt, one teaspoonful of grated lemon 
peel, one-fourth pound of prepared cocoanut, four well-beaten eggs, 
one cup of milk; mix thoroughly; butter the tins and line them 
with buttered paper; pour the mixture in to the depth of one and 
one-half inches, and bake in a good oven; when baked, take out, 
spread icing over them and return to the oven to dry the icing. 

Pound Cake. 
One and one-half cups of flour, one cup of butter, one and one- 
half cups of sugar, one-half teaspoonful of baking powder. Beat 
butter and flour to a cream; beat four eggs and sugar very light; 
put all together and add the baking jjowder. 

Plum Cake. 
Beat together two cups of butter, one cup of sugar, two eggs, one 
cuj. of molasses, one cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful each of 
allspice, cinnamon and mace, one gill brandy, two pounds each of 
currants and raisins, one-half pound citron, one-half teaspoonful 
soda. Flour to thicken. 

QuiNCY Cake. 
One cup of butter, three cups of powdered sugar, four cups ol 
flour sifted with one and one-half teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, one 
cup of sweet milk, one teaspoonful of soda, the juice and r'md of 
one fresh lemon, whites of ten eggs beaten to a stiff froth. Bake 
one and one-half or two hours in a pan. 



68 CAKE. 

QuEEX Cake. 
One pound of sugar, one pound of flour sifted with a heaping- 
teaspoonful of baking powder, three-fourths of a pound of butter, 
five eggs, one gill of sweet cream, one teaspoonful of extract of 
nectarine, one tablespoonful of water, and one grated nutmeg; beat 
the sugar and butter to a cream, add the eggs beaten very light, 
then the cream and flour, and lastly the flavoring. 

Railkoad Cake. 
One cup of sugar, one cup of flour, three eggs, one teaspoonful of 
cream of tartar, one-half teaspoonful soda, or one and one-half tea- 
spoonfuls of baking powder, a little salt; beat all together as for 
sponge cake, and spread on two square tins to bake. 

Reception Cake. 
Beat together two cups of butter and two cups of sugar; add ten 
beaten eggs, one quart of flour sifted with two teaspoonf uls of baking 
powder, two cups of currants, one cup of shaved citron, one-half of 
an orange peel cut fine, one-half cup of blanched almonds cut fine; 
season with allspice and cinnamon; put into a paper-lined cake tin 
and bake in a moderate oven. 

Rice Cake. 
Beat together one-half cup of butter, two cups of sugar, and four 
eggs; add one-half cup of sweet cream; sift together one and one- 
half cups of rice flour, one and one-half cups of flour, and one heap- 
ing teaspoonful of baking poAvder; mix all together and season 
with lemon extract. Bake in patty pans in a hot oven. 

RocHESTEK Jelly Cake. 
Three eggs, whites and yolks beaten separately, two cups of 
sugar, one-half cup of butter, one cup of sweet milk, three cups of 
flour, one tablespoonful of baking powder. Take one-half of the 
above mixture and bake in two square pans, then add to the 
remainder one cup of stoned and chopped raisins, one-fourth 



CAKE. 69 

pound of citron sliaved fine, one teaspoonful cinnamon, one nutmeg, 
one-half teaspoojiful each of cloves and allspice, one tablespoonful 
each of molasses and flour. Bake in like pans and place in alternate 
layers with raspberry jam or any kind of jelly. 

The same put together with frosting is called Ribbon Cake. 

Silver Cake. 

Beat to a froth the whites of six eggs; add two cups of sugar, 
two-thirds of a cup of butter; beat well together and add one cup 
of sweet milk with one teaspoonful of soda, two cups of flour 
and one cup corn starch sifted with two teaspoonfuls of cream 
of tartar; flavor with any extract. 

The same made by substituting the yolks for the whites makes 
a nice gold cake. 

SxoAV Cake. 

One cup of sugar, one and one-half cups of flour, one heaping 
teaspoonful of baking powder. Sift all together through a sieve 
and add the whites of ten eggs beaten stift". Bake in a quick oven. 

Swiss Cake. 
One-quarter cup of butter, one and a half cups of sugar, two and 
■one-half cups of flour, one cup of sweet milk, two eggs, one tea- 
spoonful of cream of tartar, and one-half teaspoonful of soda. Stir 
the butter and sugar to a cream; add the eggs, Avell beaten. Mix 
and flavor with lemon. This makes a good and inexpensive cake. 

Delicious Spoxge Cake. 
Twelve eggs, one pound of sugar, twelve ounces of flour, a pinch 
of salt; flavor. Beat the whites to a very stiff froth, the yolks till 
the bubbles look fine. When the yolks are beaten enough add the 
sugar and beat till sugar is dissolved; then add the whites, and 
lastly the flour, and bake immediately in brick-shaped tins. This 
will make two loaves. You will find your cake so much nicer if 
baked in a paste. Make with flour and water only; roll out on the 
board same as pie crust, line your greased tins all over inside with 



70 CAKE. 

tbe paste and pour in the battel-. Bake nearly an hour. Do not 
break off the paste till you want to use it. Your cake will be more 
moist and keep longer; indeed, the cake will be much better a day 
or two old. 

Sponge Cake with Hot Water. 

One cup of sugar and two eggs, well beaten together, one tea- 
spoonful of baking powder sifted with one cup of flour; stir well 
together, then stir in one-third cup of boiling water or milk; bake 
quickly in a buttered tin. If these directions are followed the cake 
will be very nice. 

Sponge Cake. 

Beat together the yolks of four eggs and one cup of sugar ten 
minutes; add to it one cup of flour sifted with one-half teaspoonful 
baking powder, one teaspoonful extract of orange; then add the 
whites whipped to a stiff froth, and bake in a well-greased cake 
mould in a steady oven thirty minutes. 

White Sponge Cake. 
Sift together one cup of flour, one-half cup of corn starch, one 
teaspoonful baking powder; add one cup of sugar, one teaspoonful 
extract of rose, then add the whites of eight eggs whipped to a 
stiff froth; mix thoroughly and bake in a well-buttered cake tin in 
a quick oven thirty minutes. 

Sultana Cake. 
Beat together one and one-half cups of butter and one and one 
liJilf cups of sugar; add six eggs, two at a time, beating five 
minutes between each addition, one and one-half pints of floui 
sifted with one teaspoonful baking powder, one-half cup of thick 
cream, four cups of Sultana raisins, one-half cup of chopped citron; 
mix thoroughly and put in a paper-lined cake tin well buttered. 
Bake in a moderate oven one and one-fourth hours. When done, 
spread with transparent icing. 



CAKE. 71 

Spice Cake, 
Beat together one cup of butter and two cups of sugar; add two 
beaten eggs, one cup of milk, three cups of flour with two tea- 
spoonfuls of baking powder, one-half cup each of seeded raisins 
and currants; season with nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. 

Seed Cake. 

Boat together one cup of sugar, ono-third of a rup of ha'^ter, and 

two eggs; add one-half cuj) of milk, and two oicpa ^our sifted with 

two teaspoonfuls of baking poAvder; stir ii? ona tablespoonful of 

coriander seed and season with nutmeg, Fjoke in a loaf or in 

patty tins. 

TuNBpaDGE Cake. 

Bake a plain sponge cake in a cyl'ndei-uiruld; when cold cut il 
in thin slices, lay the bottom piece ov. a plate spread over any kind 
of fruit jelly and two tablespoonfuls of any kind of wine; repeat 
this until all the cake is used; prepare a meringue paste of the 
whites of four eggs beaten stiff, with two cups of sugar; use it to 
entirely cover the top and sides of the cake; sift sugar plentifully 
over it and place it in an oven to brown just a fawn color; when 
ready to serve slide it off tbj plate into a glass dish and pile round 
it one pint of whipped oream. Flavor with any extract to suit the 
taste. Nice for tea or for dessert. 

Tavi.o'.i Cake. 

Seven eggs beaten ^separately; beat with the yolks two j^ounds of 
sugar, one and one-half pounds of butter (less butter will do); 
then add seven coffeecups of flour sifted with two and one-half tea- 
spoonfuls of baking powder, one pound of currants, one pound of 
seeded raisins, three nutmegs, a tablespoonful of cinnamon, one pint 
of milk, and lastly the beaten whites of the eg'^'i. 
"Weddixg Cake. 

First procure the following ingredients: One pound and a half of 
flour, the same of butter, half a pound of candied lemon, half a 



72 



CAKE. 



pound of eandiccl orange, lialf a pound of candied citron, one pound 
of dried cherries, one pound and a half of currants (or if the cher- 
ries cannot be readily obtained, use a pound more of currants), 
eight ounces of almonds, eight eggs, the rind of four oranges, or of 
two lemons rubbed upon sugar, half an ounce of spices, consisting 
of powdered cinnamon, grated nutmeg, and ground cloves in equal 
proportion, a teaspoonful of salt, and a small tumblerful of brandy 
(if objected to, the brandy may be omitted and another egg added). 

Wash, pick and dry the 
currants, cut the cherries 
into moderate sized pie- 
ces, slice the candied peel 
into thin shreds, blanch 
and pound the almonds, 
or cut them into very 
small pieces, and crush 
the flavored sugar to pow- 
dei". Put the butter into 
a large bowl, and beat it 
to cream, either with a 
wooden spoon or Avith the 
hand. Add very gradu- 
ally the sugar, flour, and 
eggs, and when they are 
thoroughly mixed work 
in the rest of the ingredients. Put them in a little at a time and 
beat the cake between each addition. It should be beaten fully 
three-fourths of an hour. Line a tin hooji with double thicknesses 
of buttered paper, pour in the mixture, and place it on a metal 
baking-sheet with twelve folds of paper under it, and four or five 
on top, to keep it from burning. Put it into a moderately heated 
oven, and keep the oven at an even temperature until it is done 
enough. If the cake is to be iced, first pi*eparo the almond part: 
Take half a pound of almonds, throw them into boiling water, and 




CAKE. 73 

skin them. Pound them in a mortar with a few drops of orange- 
flower water, one pound of fine white sugar, and as much white of 
egg as will make a soft, stiff paste. Spread this over the toj) of 
the cake, and keep it from the edge as much as possible. Put it in 
a cool oven or in a warm place, till it is dry and hard. To make 
the sugar icing, put two pounds of icing sugar into a bowl and 
work it into the whites of two, or if necessary, three, or even four, 
eggs. The whites must not be whisked, but thrown in as they are. 
Work the mixture to a stiff, shiny paste, and whilst working it add 
occasionally a drop of lemon-juice. Be careful to obtain ici7ig 
sugar. If a drop of liquid blue is added it will make it look whiter. 
The icing will need to be worked vigorously to make a paste that 
will not run, and the fewer eggs taken the better. The cake ought 
not to be iced until a short time before it is wanted, as it may get 
dirty. The icing should be spread evenly over with the hand 
wetted with cold water, then smoothed with an ivory knife, and it 
should be put into a gentle oven to harden. It may be ornamented 
with little knobs of icing placed round the edge; and on the day of 
the wedding a wreath of white flowers and green leaves may be 
placed round it by way of ornament. If anything more elaborate 
is required, a pretty center ornament may be made with glazed 
white card board, silver paper, and orange blossom; or a stand and 
a drum, with artificial flowers, may be hired of the confectioner. 
Time to bake the cake, about six hours. 

Wedding Cake, No 2. 

Six cups butter, four cups sugar, sixteen eggs, three pints flour, 
six cups currants, washed, dried, and picked, three cups sultana 
raisins, three cups citron, two cups candied lemon peel, two cups 
almonds, blanched and cut in shreds, one-half pint brandy, two 
ounces each nutmeg, mace, and cinnamon, one tablespoonful each 
cloves and allspice. 

Prej^are all these ingredients in the following manner: Place the 
butter and sugar in a large bowl; break the eggs into a quart mea- 
sure or pitcher; cover a small waiter with a clean sheet of paper. 



74 CAKE. 

and on it lay the sifted flour, fruit, citron, and lemon peel cut into 
shreds, the almonds and spices, with the brandy measured at hand; 
also get ready a large cake tin by papering it inside with white 
paper, and outside and bottom with four or five thicknesses of 
coarse wrapjDing paper, which can be tied on. 

Having thus prepared everything, and the fire banked up to last, 
with the addition from time to time of just a shovelful of coal by 
which means you will not reduce the oven heat, proceed to beat to 
a very light cream the butter and sugar, adding the eggs, two at a 
time, beating a little between eact addition until all are used; then 
put in contents of the waiter all at once with the brandy; mix very 
thoroughly, and smooth; put it into the prepared cake tin, smooth 
over the top, put plenty of paper on to protect it, and bake eight 
hours, keeping the oven steadily up to a clear, moderate heat; 
watch it faithfidly, and you will produce a cake Avorthy of the occa- 
sion; remove from the oven very carefully, and suffer it to stay on 
the tin until quite cold; the next day ice it with a thin coat of 
IV/iite Icing, both the top and the sides; and place in a cool oven 
to dry the icing. Noav spread a second coat of icing, which will 
prevent any crumbs or fruit being mixed up with the icing when 
you are icing to finish; now with a broad knife proceed, when the 
first coat is dry, to ice the sides, then pour the icing on the center 
of the cake, in quantity suflicient to reach the edges, when stop; 
decorate with a vase of white, made flowers, etc., to taste. 

Vanilla Cake. 
One cup of butter, two cups of pulverized sugar, one cup of sweet 
milk, three cups of flour, one-half cup of corn starch sifted with two 
teaspoonfuls of baking powder, four eggs, two teaspoonfuls extract 
of vanilla. 

"Washtngton" Cake. 

Three- foiirths j^ound of butter, one and one-fourth jjounds of 
sugar beaten together; add four beaten eggs, one pint milk, one 
and one-fourth pounds of flour, with two teaspoonfuls baking j^ow- 



CAKE. 75 

der, one and one-half pounds of seedless raisins, one and one-half 
pounds of currants, one glass brandy; sj)ice to taste. 

Wine Cake. 
Beat together one and one-half cups of butter and two cups of 
sugar; add three beaten eggs, two cups of flour with one teaspoon- 
ful baking powdei', one gill of Avine; mix into a firm batter and 
bake in a moderate oven. Frost. 

Webster Cakes. 
Beat together thoroughly one cup of butter, three cups of sugar, 
and two eggs; add five cups of flour sifted with two teaspoonfuls 
of baking powder, one and one-half cups of milk, two cups of seed- 
less raisins, one teaspoonful each of extract of bitter almonds and 
vanilla. Bake in a quick, steady oven forty-five minutes. 

Watermelon Cake. 

White part: Two cups of pulverized sugar, two-thirds cup each 
of butter and sweet milk, three cups of flour sifted with one table- 
spoonful baking powder, and the whites of five eggs; flavor. 

Red part; One cup of red sugar sand, one-half cup of butter, 
two-thirds cup of milk, two cups of flour, one heaping teaspoonful 
of baking powder, whites of five eggs, and one-half pound of raisins. 

In filling the cake pan put the white part outside and the red part 
inside; drop in the raisins here and there where they belong for 
seeds. 

White Cake. 
Whites of eight eggs well whipped, three caps of pulverized 
««ngar, one cup of butter, one cup of milk, foui cups of sifted flour 
with one teaspoonful cream of tartar, one-half teaspoonful of soda 
dissolved in the milk, juice of one lemon. Bake one hour in a 
moderate oven. 

Yule Cake. 
Rub together two and one-half cups of butter and three cups of 
sugar; add ten beaten eggs, four cups of flour with two teaspoon- 



76 COOKIES, JUMBLES AND SNAPS. 

fuls baking 2)0wder, four cu2).s of currants, two-thirds cup of 
chopped citron, one teaspoonful eaeli of extract of nutmeg and 
ck)ves, one gill brandy. Bake in a well-greased, paper-lined tin, in 
a moderate oven, two and one-half hours. 

Crullers. 
One-half pint of buttermilk, one cup of butter, two cups of 
sugar, and three eggs; beat up the eggs and add the sugar and 
milk. Dissolve half a teaspoonful of saleratus in a little hot water; 
add to the mixture, with a teaspoonful of salt, one-half nutmeg 
grated and half a teaspoonful of fresh ground cinnamon. Work in 
as much flour as will make a smooth dough; mix thoroughly; 
dredge the board, rolling-pin, and dough with flour; roll it out and 
cut it in rings or fingers and fry in hot fat. 

Crullers, No. 2. 

Three eggs, one cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter, one cup of 
milk, three teaspoonfuls of baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and 
lemon juice, or extract to taste; flour sufiicient to stiffen. Cut in 
strips and fry in lard. 

Crullers, No. 3, 

Six eggs, one cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one-half cup of 
milk, and flour to roll out easily. They should be rolled out about 
one-half inch thick; cut Avith a jagging iron or knife in strips about 
one-half inch wide, and twist so as to form cakes. The fat 
should boil up as the cakes are put in and they should be constantly 
watched while frying. When brown on the underside, turn them; 
when brown on both sides they are sufliciently done. 




Mamma's Cookies All Gone ! 



COOKIES, JUMBLES AND SNAPS. 77 

COOKIES, JUMBLES, AND SNAPS. 

Almoxd Cookies. 
Half a pound of battel-, same of sugar, one-and one-fourth pounda 
of flour (or half corn starch), one good teaspoonful baking powder, 
two eggs; flavor with extract of almond, and mix into a smooth 
dough to roll out with a little milk; roll quarter of an inch thick. 
and cut in any shape; wash them over, when cut, with a little 
water and sprinkle with chopped almonds, and sift over a little fine 

sugar. 

Almond Cookies. 

Two pounds of butter, three pounds of sugar, one pound of 
shelled almonds, one dozen eggs, one teaspoonful of ground cinna- 
mon, one-half teasjjoonful of soda, a cup of boiling water, one 
lemon grated; mix butter, sugar, yolks of eggs, lemon, cinnamon, 
and hot water; beat the whites, take three parts, mix also one-half 
of the almonds, and as much flour as it will hold; roll them, and 
brush with the whites of eggs. Before putting in the almonds artd 
sugar, almonds must be scalded, dried and cut fine. Bake in a 
moderate oven. 

CocoANUT Cookies. 

Two cups sugar, one cup butter, two eggs, one teaspoonful soda 
dissolved in a tablespoonful of milk, one cocoanut, and flour enough 
to roll. 

Cookies. 

One quart flour sifted, three teaspoonfuls baking powder, twc 
eggs, one cup of sugar, half a cup of butter, three tablespoonful f 
of milk; mix soft and roll; flavor Avith any extract. 

Cream Cookies. 
Two cups sugar, two eggs, one cup sour cream, one cup butter,^ 
one teaspoonful soda, one teaspoonful lemon extract or one-half a 
nutmeg grated; flour enough to make a dough as soft as it can be 
rolled. Delicious. 



78 COOKIES, JUMBLES AND SNAPS. 

Cookies, No. 2. 

One cnp sugar, one-half cup lai-d or l)utter, one-half cup sour 
milk, one-half teaspoonful soda, just flour enough to roll, baking 
quickly. Add any flavoring you Avish. No eggs are required. 
These are very nice if grated or prepared cocoanut is added. 

Cookies, No, 3. 

One cup of butter, two cups sugar, four eggs, four cups flour, 
three tablespoonfuLs milk, three teaspoonfuls baking powder. Rub 
the flour and butter thoroughly together, cream the butter and 
sugar, beat the eggs separately; add to the above, with a little nut- 
meg or cinnamon, or any seasoning preferred. Sift in the flour and 
baking poAvder, and add enough flour to mold and roll out. Tliese 
cookies will keep fresh tAVO weeks, and if the milk is left out, a 

month. 

Cookies, No. 4. 

One and one-half cups of white sugar, four eggs, one cup of lard, 
lialf cup of butter, three tablespoonfuls of water, one teaspoonful 
soda, a half grated nutmeg; roll thin; dust over with sugar and roll 
flown lightly. Bake quickly. 

Egoless Cookies. 

Tavo cups sugar, one cup sweet milk, one cup butter, one-half 
teaspoonful soda. Flour enough to roll. Use vanilla, lemon or 
nutmeg for seasoning. They are very nice. 
GixGEK Cookies. 

One cup sugar, one cup molasses, one cup shortening, two beaten 
eggs, one teaspoonful soda dissolved in four tablespoonfuls of but- 
termilk, one tablespoonful ginger. Stir Avith a spoon until stiff 
enough to mold Avith the hand; roll and bake in a quick oven. 
Graiiaai Cookies. 

Two cups of sugar, one cu]) of sour cream, one-half teaspoonful 
of soda; mix quickly, roll and bake. These require less heat and 
more time in baking than Avhen Avhite flour is used. 



COOKIES, JUMBLES AND SNAPS. 79 

Molasses Cookies. 
Three cups of New Orleans molasses, one cup of lard, a half cup 
butter, four teaspoonfuls soda dissolved in ten tablespoonfuls boil- 
ino- Avater; one tablespoonful ginger, one teaspoonful cinnamon. 

Sugar Cookies. 
Two cups of sugar, one cup of butter, one-half cup of milk, two 
eggs, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one teaspoonful soda, a 
tablespoonful caraway seeds. Mix soft and roll. 

Hickory-nut Cookies. 
Take two cups of sugar, two eggs, half a cup of melted butter, 
six tablespoonfuls of milk, or a little more than a third of a cup, 
one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, half a teaspoonful of soda and 
one cup of chopped meats stirred into the dough. 

Sand Tarts. 
Rub toerether two pounds of sugar, two pounds of flour, one and 
a quarter pounds of butter beaten with three eggs; mix smooth and 
roll out and cut into cakes. Place hickory-nut or almond meats 
over the top. Wet over with the whole of an egg beaten, and 
sprinkle with cinnamon and fine sugar. 

Jumbles. 

Three eggs, one and one-fourth cups sugar, one cup butter, three 
tablespoonfuls sour milk, one-quarter teaspoonful saleratus, flour to 
mix hard. After it is kneaded and rolled out, sift sugar over the 
top. Season if you like. 

Jumbles, No. 2. 

One cup of butter, two cups of sugar, one cup of milk, five eggs, 
one teaspoonful of cream of tartar, and half a teaspoonful of soda. 

Ginger Snaps. 
One cup of sugar, one cup of molasses, one cup of butter, one 
teaspoonful soda, one teaspoonful ginger, one egg. 



80 COOKIES, JUMBLES AND SNAPS. 

Ginger Snaps, No. 2. 
One cap molasses, one-half cup lard, one teaspoonful soda, salt 
and ginger to taste; mix hard. 

Ginger Snaps, No. 3. 
One cott'eecup New Orleans molasses, one cup butter, one cup 
sugar; place them on the stove, and let it come to a boil, then take 
off immediately, and add a teaspoonful of soda, and a tablespoon- 
ful of ginger. Roll thin and bake quickly. 

Doughnuts. 

Two beaten eggs, one cup of sugar, four tablespoonfuls melted 
lard, one cup of sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda, a little salt, 
seasoning to the taste; flour to make a soft dough to roll out; fry 
in hot lard. 

Doughnuts Without Eggs. 

Two quarts of flour, one pint of milk, one heaping cup of sugar, 
and a piece of butter the size of an egg. Scald the milk, and when 
tepid add the sugar, the butter, a half cup of yeast, and a half tea- 
spoonful of soda. Pour this all into the center of the flour, using 
enough of flour to make a sponge. Let it rise all night in a Avarm 
place. In the morning sprinkle in whatever spice you want; then 
knead in the rest of the flour; let it rise again until light; knead 
again and roll them. After they are cut out let them stand five 
minutes. Fry in boiling lard. 

Doughnuts, Raised. 
Make a sponge, using one quart water and one cake yeast; let it 
rise until very light, then add one cup of lard, two cups of sugar, 
three large mashed potatoes, two eggs, season with nutmeg; let rise 
again until very light. Roll and cut, or pull off bits of dough and 
shape as you like; lay enough to fry at one time on a floured plate 
and set in the oven to warm ; drop in boiling lard and fry longer 
than cakes made with baking powder. 



COOKIES, JUMBLES AND SNAPS. 81 

Cream Doughnuts. 

Beat one cup each of sour cream and sugar, and two eggs, 
together; add a level teaspoonful of soda, a little salt, and flour 
enough to roll. 

Fried Cakes. 
'= Seven taWespoonfuls of sugar, three tablespoonfuls of melted 
lard, three tablespoonfuls of melted butter, three ijggs, one cup of 
milk, one teaspoonful of soda, two teaspoonfuls of tream of tartar; 
flour enough to roll out soft. Roll in pulverized sugar when half 
cold. 

Snow Balls, White. 

One cup of sugar, six tablespoonfuls of melted butter, two eggs, 
one cup of sweet milk, two teaspoonfuls of cream of tartar, one of 
soda, a very little nutmeg, one teaspoonful of salt; mix middling 
soft and roll out, and cut with a small round outter. Your tea 
canister top may be just the right size. Fry ir hot lard. Have 
ready a small bowl with a little fine white sugar in it. As you 
take them from the lard drop them in the suga'^ and roll around 
quickly until the surface has a very thin coat of sugar all over it, 
then lay carefully on a plate. Repeat with eacl cake separately, 
adding a little fresh sugar occasionally. 






CHAPTER IV. 

CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 

Apple Snow. 
UT twelve tart apples in cold water over a slow /irej when 
soft skin and core. Mix in a pint of sifted white sugar, beat 
the whites of twelve eggs to a stiff froth, then add to the 
apples and sugar. Put in a dessert dish and ornament with myrtle. 
It will be found much better if frozen. 

Almond Ceeam. 

Take three ounces of sweet and one ounce of bitter almonds, 
blanch them; put them in a pan over the fire, stirring them con- 
tinually. As soon as they have acquired a fine yellow color, take 
them off the fire, and when cold pound them into fino pieces; then 
add a pint of cream or rich milk, nearly boiling, and three or four 
heaping tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one-half package of gelatine 
which has been dissolved in a little water. Put it upon the ice, and 
when about to thicken stir it until it is very smooth, then stir in 
lightly a pint of whipped cream and put it into a mold. 

Apple Float. 
One cup of pulverized sugar, one cup of cream beaten to a stiff 
froth, five eggs beaten light, one lemon, four Iarp.e apples grated, 
three tablespoonfuls of gelatine dissolved in warm water. Fills one 
quart bowl. 

Bavaroise. 
One pint of milk; add four tablespoonfuls of ground coffee; cook 
until well mixed, and strain through a jelly-bag; add the beaten 

82' 



CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 83 

yolks of four eggs, a cup of sugar, and cook as for a custai'd; set in 
a cold place, and when cool add a pint of whipped <;ream in which 
has been stirred one-third of a box of dissolved gelatine, and stand 
in a cool place until it thickens. 

Blanc Mange. 
Take four ounces of sweet almonds and one-half ounce of bitter 
almonds, blanched; pound them in a mortar, moistening them occa- 
sionally with orange-flower water; mix this with one quart of fresh 
cream; set the cream and almonds on the fire, stirring constantly; 
when it comes to a scald pour in one-half box of gelatine which has 
been previously dissolved by soaking in half a cup of oold water 
one hour. 

Cream a la Mode. 

Put half a pound of white sugar into a deep glass dish; the juice 
of one large orange and one lemon; to one ounce of isinglass or 
gelatine add one pint of water; let it simmer down one-half, and 
when cool sti'ain it into the glass dish, and by degrees add one and 
one-half pints of whipped cream; stir till cool, and place it on ice to 
stiffen. 

Coffee Cream. 

Sweeten one pint of rich cream rather liberally; roast two ounces 
of coffee kernels; Avhen they are lightly browned throw them into 
the cream at once, and let the dish stand an hour before using; 
strain, and whip the cream to a stiff froth. A teaspoonful of pow- 
dered gum arabic dissolved in a little orange-flower water, may be 
added to give the cream more firmness, if desired. 

Bavarian Cream. 
Whip one pint of cream to a stiff froth, and set in a colander 
one minute to allow the un whipped portion to drip away; boil one 
pint of milk and one-half cup of sugar; flavor with vanilla, and add 
one-half package of gelatine dissolved in water, remove from 
the fire, and cool; add the well-beaten whites of four eggs. When 
the mixture has become quite cold add the whipped cream gradually 



84 CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 

until it is well mixed; put into individual molds a teaspoonful of 
some bright jelly or jam, then jjour the mixture and place in an 
ice-chest until wanted. This cream may be flavored in any way 
desired. 

Chocolate Bavarian Cream 
Can be made as the i^i'eceding by adding two cakes of sweet 
chocolate, soaked and stirred smooth in two tablespoonfuls of water, 
to the yolks of the eggs. 

Caledonian Cream. 
Two ounces of raspberry jam or jelly, two ounces of red currant 
jelly, two ounces of sifted loaf sugar, the whites of two eggs put 
into a bowl and beaten with a spoon for three-quarters of an hour. 
This makes a very pretty cream, and is good and economical. 

Charlotte Russe Elegante. 
One-half package of gelatine dissolved in a very little water; 
one quart of whipped cream, flavored and sweetened to taste. 
Line a mold with sponge or white cake; stir the gelatine into 
the cream and pour into the prepared mold. The cake may be 
soaked in a little wine if preferred. 

Charlotte Russe. 
One pint of cream well whipped; beat five tablespoonfuls of sugar 
jrith the yolks of four eggs; simmer together one-half pint of milk 
and one-half ounce of isinglass or gelatine till the gelatine is dis- 
solved, then mix with the beaten yolks and the sugar, then the 
whites of the eggs well beaten, then the whipped cream; flavor 
with one gill of wine and set it aside to cool; pour it into a mold 
which was previously lined with pieces of sponge cake. When it is 
stiff and solid turn out into a dish and sift sugar over the top. 

Charlotte Russe, No. 2. 
One box of gelatine soaked in milk one-half hour; Avhile it is 
soaking make a soft custard with the yolks of seven eggs, one pint 
of milk, and one-half pound of crushed sugar. When the custard 



CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 85 

begins to boil pour in the gelatine and it will dissolve; when dis- 
solved, strain the custard through a sieve and add one gill of cold 
cream; then let it cool a little, but not enough to thicken; whip a 
good quart of thick cream, add vanilla or any flavoring to suit the 
taste, add this to the custard, set it in the ice chest and stir occa- 
sionally until it begins to thicken. Then beat the whites of the 
seven eggs to a froth, adding two tablespoonfuls of powdered 
sugar, and stir into the custard and cream, stirring occasionally 
very gently until it is thick enough to turn into the molds which, 
have been lined with sponge fingers or slices. Set them back ip 
the ice chest. 

Fruit Charlotte. 

Line a dish with sponge cake; place upon the bottom, in thj 
centre of the dish, grated pine-apple; cover with a whipped cream 
blanc mange. Keep back a little of the cream to poiir over the top 
after it is poured out of the mold. 

Genoese Cream. 
One pint of milk, one tablespoonful of flour, one tablespoonful of 
sugar. Boil until it thickens; add the yolks of three eggs and a 
piece of butter the size of. an egg; flavor with lemon or vanilla. 
Cover the bottom of the dish with sponge cake, spreading one side 
of the cake with currant or other jelly. Pour on the cream and 
dust the top with sugar. 

Italian Cream, 
Put one ounce of soaked isinglass, six ounces of loaf sugar, and 
one pint of milk, into a sauce pan; boil slowly and stir all the time 
until the isinglass is dissolved; strain the mixture, and, when cool, 
mix it with a pint of thick cream; flavor with one teaspoonful 
of extract of bitter almond, and one gill of rose water. Beat 
thoroughly until it thickens; pour into a large or into individual 
molds and put into an ice box until wanted. 



86 CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 

Manioca Cream. 
Three tablespoonfuls of manioca, one pint of milk, three eggs, 
vanilla and sugar to taste; soak the manioca in water till soft; boil 
the milk; while boiling stir in the manioca and the yolks of the 
eggs beaten with the sugar; when cooked sufficiently pour into a 
dish to cool; when cold, add the vanilla; beat the whites of the 
eggs until stiff, sweeten and flavor them and stir part into the 
cream, putting the rest on top. 

RussE Cream. 
One-half box of gelatine soaked in a little water one hour, one 
quai't of milk, one cup of sugar, and four eggs. Mix sugar, milk, 
yolks of eggs, and gelatine together; put in a pail, set in a kettle 
of water and boil twenty minutes. Beat the whites of the cg^-3 
stiff, and stir into the custard after taking off the fire. Flavor with 
vanilla and pour into molds. Serve with sugar and cream or with 
custard. 

Rock Cream. 

Boil rice until quite soft in new milk, sweeten with powdered 
loaf sugar. Pile it in a dish and lay on it in different places lumps 
of currant jelly, or any kind of preserves; beat the whites of five 
eggs to a stiff froth; add flavoring and a tablespoouful of thick 
cream; droj) it over the rice forming a rock of cream. 

Spanish Cream. 
Make a soft custard of one quart of milk, the yolks of six eggs, 
six tablespoonfuls of sugar. Put one box of gelatine dissolved in 
one pint of water over the fire; add the custard; flavor with vanilla 
Strain into molds and set in a cool place. 

Tapioca Cream. 
One cup of tapioca soaked for eight hours in milk enough to 
cover; then take one quart of milk, place on the stove, and when it 
boils add the beaten yolks of two eggs and the tapioca; let it boil up. 



CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 87 

then stir the beaten whites very thoroughly through it. Sweeten 
and flavor to taste. Eat cohh 

Whipped Cream. 

To one quart very tliick whipped cream, add powdered sugar to 
taste and a glass of wine. Make just before ready to use. 

Whipped Cream Sauce, 

IVIix a plateful of whipped cream (flavored with vanilla), the 
beaten whites of two eggs and pulverized sugar to taste, all together; 
pile a bank of this mixture in the center of a platter and form a 
circle of little fruit puddings (steamed in cups) around it, or it is 
nice for corn starch, blanc manges, etc. 

Single cream is cream that has stood on the milk twelve hours. 
It is the best for tea and coffee. Double cream stands on its milk 
twenty-four hours, and cream for butter frequently stands forty- 
eight hours. Cream that is to be whipped should not be buttei' 
cream, lest in whipping it change to butter. 

Almond Custard, 

One pint of new milk, one cup of pulverized sugar, one-quartek 
Dound of almonds (blanched and pounded), two teaspoonfuls rose 
water, the yolks of four eggs; stir this over a slow fire until it is 
of the consistency of cream, then remove it quickly and put into a 
dish. Beat the whites with a little sugar added to the froth, and 
lay on top. 

Apple Custard. 

One pint of mashed stewed apples, one pint of sweet milk, four 
eggs, one cup of sugar, and a little nutmeg. Bake slowly. 

Boiled Custard. 
Allow five eggs to one quart of milk, a tablespoonful of sugar to, 
each egg, set the milk in a kettle of boiling water until it scalds; 
then, after dipping a little of the milk on to the eggs and beating 
up, turn into the scalded milk, and stir until it thickens. Flavor 
to taste. 



88 CREAMS KND CUSTARDS. 

Baked Custard. 
One quart of milk, five eggs, a pinch of salt, sugar and flavor to 
taste, boil the milk; when cool, stir in the beaten eggs and sugar, 
pour into cups, set them in pans of water, and bake; if baked toe 
long, will become watery. 

Chocolate Custard. 
Make a boiled custard with one quart of milk, the yolks of six 
eggs, six tablespoonf uls of sugar, and one-half cup of grated vanilla 
chocolate. Boil until thick enough, stirring all the time. When 
nearly cold, flavor with vanilla. Pour into cups, and put the whites 
of the eggs beaten with some powdered sugar on the top. 

Coffee Custard. 

One-half pint of rich cream, one-half cup cold coffee, four eggs, 
sugar to taste. 

Corn Starch Custard. 

Most persons know how to make a corn starch custard. A rich 
one can be made as follows: One quart of milk with five beaten 
eggs in it; sweeten and flavor to choice, adding one-fourth pound 
of corn starch; place over the fire, stirring quickly to avoid burn- 
ing to the bottom, until it begins to thicken. Or, can take less egg 
by using more corn starch, as follows: One quart of milk, two eggs, 
sugar and flavor to taste, one-half pound of corn starch. If this is 
too much starch and it becomes too thick, take it off the fire, add a 
a little milk, stirring till smooth. A custard is best made in a 
vessel placed in boiling water, as there is no risk of burning. 
Custards requii'e to be stiff er for filling cream puffs, chocolate eclares, 
charlotte russes, etc. The above receipts are thick enough for any 
of the purposes, and, if required for simple custard, less starch 
will do. 

CocoANUT Custard. 

To one pound of grated cocoanut, allow one pint of scalding 
milk and six ounces of sugar. Beat well the yolks of six eggs and 



CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 89 

stir them alternately into the milk with the cocoanut and sugar. 
Pour this into a dish lined with paste and bake twenty minutes ; or, 
if preferred, treat the milk, cocoanut, eggs, and sugar as for boiled 
custard, and serve in cups. 

Cold Cup Custard. 
One quart of new milk, one pint of cream, one-fourth pound of 
fine white sugar, three large tablespoonfuls of wine, in which 
rennet has been soaked. Mix the milk, c4-eam and sugar together, 
stir the wine into it, pour the mixture into custard cups, and set 
them away until the milk becomes a curd. Grate nutmeg on top 
and eat them with cream that has been kept on ice. 

Caramel Custard. 

Put two dessert-spoonfuls of crushed sugar into a tin pan; let it 
stand on the stove till it begins to brown, then stir constantly till it 
is a thick, black syrup. Pour it into a quart of scalding milk; add 
six ounces of white sugar and the yolks of six eggs. Beat and 
pour into cups, set in a pan of hot water in the oven and bake 
twenty minutes. 

Lemon Custard, 

Four eggs (leave out the white of one), one cup of sugar, one cup 
of cold water, one grated lemon, a small piece of butter, one table- 
spoonful of corn starch; bake as custard; after it is baked, cover it 
with the beaten white and pulverized sugar; return to the oven; 
bake a light brown. 

Moonshine. 

Beat the whites of six eggs into a very stiff froth, then add grad- 
ually six tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar, beating for not less 
tJian fifteen minutes; then beat in one heaping tablespoon ful of 
preserved peaches cut in tiny bits. In serving, pour in each saucer 
some rich cream sweetened and flavored with vanilla, and on the 
cream place a liberal portion of the moonshine. This quantity is 
enough for seven or eight persons. 



90 



CREAMS AND CUSTARDS. 



Floating Island. 
Set a quart of milk to boil, then stir into it the beaten yolks of 
six eggs; flavor with any exti'act liked and sweeten to taste; whip 
whites of eggs to a stiff froth. When the custard is thick, put 
into a deep dish, and heap the frothed eggs upon it. Place pieces 
of currant jelly on top and serve cold. 

Floatestg Island, No. 2. 
Into three-quarters of a pint of cream, put sugar to make it very 

sweet, and the juice and rind of a lemon grated. Beat it for ten 

minutes. Cut French rolls into 
thin slices, and lay them on a 
round dish on the top of the 
cream. On this put a layer of 
apricot or currant jam, and some 
more slices of roll. Pile upon 
this, very high, a whip made of 
damson jam, and the whites of 

four eggs. It should be rough to imitate a rock. Garnish with 

fruits or sweetmeats. 

Irish Moss. 

Soak a scant handful of Irish moss in strong soda water until it 
swells; then squeeze the moss until it is free from water, and \mt it 
in a tin bucket which contains six pints of sweet milk. Set the 
bucket in a large iron pot which holds several pints of hot water; 
stir seldom, and let it remain until it will jell slightly by dropping 
on a cold plate. Strain through a sieve, sweeten and flavor to 
taste. Rinse a mold or a crock with tepid water; pour in the mix- 
ture, and set it away to cool. In a few houi's it will be palatable. 
Eat with cream and sugar — some add jelly. 
QUAKTJTG CtrSTAITD. 

Three cups of milk; yolks of four eggs, reserving the whites for 
"^he meringue ; one-half package gelatine; six tablespoonfuls of 
sugar; vanilla flavoring; juice of one lemon for meringue. Soak 




CREAMS AND CUSTxVUDS. , 91 

the gelatine two hours in a cup of the cold milk. Tiien add 
to the rest of the milk, which must be boiling hot, and stir until 
dissolved. Let it stand a few minutes, and strain through muslin 
over the beaten yolks and sugar. Put over the fire and stir five 
minutes, or until you can feel it thickening. Stir up well when 
nearly cold, flavor, and let it alone until it congeals around the 
edges of the bowl into which you have poured it; then stir again, 
and put into a wet mold. Set upon ice, or in cold water until firm 
Turn it, when you are ready for it, into a glass bowl. Have a 
meringue made by whipping the whites stiff with three tablespoon- 
fuls of powdered sugar, and the lemon juice. 

Orange Snow. 
Peel sweet oranges, slice and lay them in a glass dish with alter- 
nate layers of grated cocoanut and powdered loaf sugar, leaving a 
layer of cocoanut on top. Pour over the whole a glass of orange 
and lemon juice mixed. Place on ice vniU r^<*4j. to sorve. 



CHAPTER V. 

CONFECTIONERY. 

General Directions. 
'RANULATED sugar is preferable. Candy should not be 
stirred while boiling. Cream of tartar should not be added 
until the syrup begins to boil. Butter should be put in when 
the candy is almost done. Flavors are more delicate when not 
boiled in the candy. 

Almond Candy. 

Proceed in the same way as for cocoanut candy. Let the almonds 
be perfectly dry and do not throw them into the sugar until it 
approaches the candying point. 

Almond Creams. 
Three cups of sugar, one and one-half cups of water, one-half 
teaspoonful of cream of tartar, flavor with vanilla. Boil until drops 
will almost keep their shape in water, and add a cup of blanched 
almonds chopped fine, then pour into a bowl set in cold water; stir 
steadily with a silver or wooden spoon until cool enough to bear 
the hand; then place on a platter and knead to a fine even texture. 
If too hard, a few drops of warm water may be stirred in. If too 
soft, it must be boiled again. When well molded, cut in squares! 
or bars. Almond cream is very nice flavored with chocolate- 

BON BONS. 

Take some fine fresh candied orange rind or citron, clear off the 
sugar that adheres to it, cut it into inch squares, stick these singly 
on the prong of a fork or ozier twigs, and dip them into a solution 
of sugar boiled to the consistency of candy, and place them on a 



CONFECTIONERY. 98 

dish rubbed with the smallest possible quantity of salad oil. When 
perfectly cold put them into dry tin boxes with paper between each 

layer. 

Butter Scotch. 

One cup of molasses, one cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter. 
Boil until done. 

Boston Caramels. 

One pint bowl of grated chocolate, two bowls of yellow sugar, 
one bowl of New Orleans molasses, one-half cup of milk, a piece 
of butter the size of a small egg, and vanilla flavor; boil about 
twenty-five minutes; this should not be so brittle as other candies. 
Pour in buttered tins and mark deeply with a knife. 

Cbeam Cocoanut Candy. 
One and a half pounds of sugar, one-half cup of milk; boil ten 
minutes; one grated cocoanut added; boil until thick; put on 
greased pans quite thick; when partially cold cut in strips. 

Cocoanut Caramels. 

Two cups of grated cocoanut, one cup of sugar, two tablespoon- 
fuls of flour, the whites of three eggs beaten stiff; bake on a but- 
tered paper in a quick oven. 

Cocoanut Candy. 
One cup of water, two and a half cups of fine white sugar, four 
spoonfuls of vinegar, a piece of butter as large as an egg; boil till 
thick about three-quarters of an hour. Just before removing stir 
in one cup desiccated cocoanut and lay in small flat cakes on but- 
tered plates to cool and harden, 

Chocolate Caramels. 
One cup sweet milk, one cup of molasses, half a cup of sugar, 
half a c-j jf grated chocolate, a piece of butter the size of a walnut ; 
stir constantly, and let it boil until it is thick; then turn it out on 
to butt ered plates, and when it begins to stiffen mark it in squares, 
so that c will break readily when cold. 



94 CONFECTIONERY. 

Chocolate Cream Drops. 

Mix one-half cup of cream with two of white sugar, boil and stir 
full five m^Jiutes; set the dish into another of cold water and stir 
until ib becomes hard. Then make into small balls about the size 
of marbles, and with a fork roll each one separately in the choco- 
late, 'vhich has in the meantime been put in a bowl over the 
bfuli ng tea kettle and melted; put on brown paper to cool; flavor 
'' 4h vanilla if desired. This amount makes about fifty drops. 

Chocolate Kisses. 
One pound of sugar and two ounces of chocolate pounded together 
tid finely sifted; mix with the whites of eggs well beaten to a 
froth; drop on buttered paper and bake slowly. 

Fruit Candy. 

One and one-half pounds of granulated sugar, wet with the milk 
of a cocoanut; put into a sauce-pan and let it heat slowly; boil 
rapidly five minutes, then add one cocoanut grated very fine, anc*. 
boil ten minutes longer, stirring constantly. Try a little on a cold 
plate, and if it forms a firm paste when cool, take from the fire. 
Pour part of it out on to a large tin lined with greased paper; then 
add to the remaining cream one-fourth pound of stoned raisins., 
one-half pound of blanched almonds, one pint of pecans, one-half 
cup of chopped walnuts. Pour over the other cream, and when 
BOol cut into bars and squares. ' 

HicKORY-NUT Candy. 
Boil two cups of sugar, one-half cup of water, without stirring, 
until thick enough to spin a thread; flavor; set the dish off into* 
'cold water; stir quickly until white, then stir in one cup of hicko- 
ry-nut meats; turn into a flat tin, and when cool cut into squares. 

HoREHOUND Candy. 
Prepare a strong decoction, by boiling two ounces of the dried 
herb in a pint and a half of water for about half an hour; strain 



CONFECTIONERY. 95 

this, and add three and one-half pounds of brown sugar; boil over 
a hot fire until it reaches the requisite degree of hardness, when it 
may be poured out in flat tin trays, previously well greased, and 
marked into sticks or squares with a knife, as it becomes cool 
enough to retain its shape. 

Lemon-Ckeam Candy. 

Six pounds best white sugar, strained juice of two lemons, grated 
peel of one lemon, one teaspoonful of soda, three cups clear water. 
Steep the grated peel of the lemon in the juice for an hour; strain, 
squeezing the cloth hard to get out all the strength. Pour the 
water over the sugar, and, when nearly dissolved, set it over the 
fire and bring to a boil. Stew steadily until it hardens in cold 
water; stir in the lemon; boil one minute; add the dry soda, 
stirring in well ; and, instantly, turn out upon broad, shallow dishes. 
Pull as soon as you can handle it, into long white ropes, and cut 
into lengths when brittle. 

Vanilla cream candy is made in the same way, with the substitu- 
tion of vanilla flavoring for the lemon-juice and peel. 

Lemon and Peppermint Drops. 

Take of dry granulated sugar a convenient quantity; place it in a 
saucepan having a lip from which the contents may be poured or 
dropped. Add a very little water, just enough to make, with the 
sugar, a stiff paste; two ounces of water to a pound of sugar is 
about the right proportion. Set it over the fire and allow it to 
nearly boil, keeping it continually stirred. It must not actually 
come to a full boil, but must be removed from the fire just as soon 
as the bubbles, denoting that the boiling point is reached, begin to 
rise. Allow the syrup to cool a little, stirring all the time; add 
strong essence of peppermint or lemon to suit the taste, and drop 
on tins or sheets of smooth white paper. The dropping is per- 
formed by tilting the vessel slightly, so that the contents will run 
out, and with a small piece of stiff wire the drops may be stroked 
off on to the tins or paper. They should be kept in a warm place 



96 CONFECTIONERY. 

for a few hours to dry. In the season of fruits, delicious drops 
may be made by substituting the juice of fresh fruits, as straw 
berry, raspberry, lemon, pineapple or banana, or any of these 
essences may be used. 

Molasses Candy. 

Into a kettle holding at least four times the amount of molasses 
to be used, pour a convenient quantity of Porto Rico molasses; 
place over a slow fire and boil for a half hour, stirring all the time 
to diminish as much as possible the increase of bulk caused by boil- 
ing, and checking the fire or removing the kettle if there is any 
danger of the contents running over. Be very careful not to let 
the candy burn, especially near the close of the boiling. When a 
little, dropped in cold water, becomes quickly hard and snaps apart 
like a pipestem, add a teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, free from 
lumps, to every two quarts; stir quickly to mix, and pour on greased 
platters to cool. When the candy is sufficiently cool to handle 
without burning the hands, it is pulled back and forth, the hands 
being rubbed with a little butter (do not use flour) to prevent the 
candy from sticking to them. The more the candy is worked, the 
lighter it will be in color. 

White Molasses Candy. 

Take two pounds of refined sugar (termed by grocers " Coffee 
C "), one pint of pure sugar-house syrup, and one pint best Porto 
Rico or New Oi'leans molasses. Boil together until it hardens, as 
above described, add one teaspoonful of carbonate of soda, and 
work in the usual manner. 

Peanut Candy. 

One scant pint of molasses, four quarts of peanuts, measured 
before they are shelled, two tablespoonf uls of vanilla, one teaspoon- 
ful of soda. Boil the molasses until it hardens in cold water, when 
dropped from the spoon. Stir in the vanilla, then the soda, dry. 
Lastly, the shelled peanuts. Turn out into shallow pans well 
buttei'cd, and press it down smooth with a wooden spoon. 



CONFECTIONERY. 97 

We can heartily recommend the candy made according to this 
receipt as being unrivaled of its kind. 

The molasses should be good in quality, and the peanuts freshly 
roasted. 

Pop-Corn Balls. 

Add one ounce of white gum arable to a half pint of water, and 
let it stand until dissolved. Strain, add one pound of refined sugar 
and boil until when cooled it becomes very thick, so much so as 
to be stirred with difficulty. To ascertain when it has reached this 
point, a little may be cooled in a saucer. A convenient quantity of 
the freshly popped corn having been placed in a milk pan, enough 
of the warm syrupy candy is poured on and mixed by stirring, to 
cause the kernels to adhere in a mass, portions of which may be 
formed into balls by pressing them into the proper shape with the 
hands. Ordinaiy molasses, or sugar-house syrup may be used as 
well, by being boiled to the same degree, no gum being necessary 
with these materials. Corn cake is prepared in a similar manner. 
This mass, while warm, is put into tins and pressed by rollers into 
thin sheets, which are afterwards divided into small, square cakes. 

Taffy. 

Either of the two kinds of molasses candy, if poured from the 
kettle into tin trays without working, will produce a fine plain 
taffy. It may be left in one sheet the size of the tray, or, wheH 
slightly cold, may be marked off in squares. 

Efferton Taffy. 
This is a favorite English confection. To make it take three 
pounds of the best brown sugar and boil with one and one-hall 
pints of Avater, until the candy hardens in cold water. Then add 
one-half pound of sweet-flavored, fresh butter, Avhich will soften 
the candy. Boil a few minutes until it again hardens and pour it 
into trays. Flavor with lemon if desired. 
7 



98 CONFECTIONERY. 

Vinegar Candy. 
Three cups white sugar; one and one-half cups clear vinegar; stir 
the sugar into the vinegar until thoroughly dissolved; heat to a 
gentle boil, and stew uncovered until it ropes from the tip of the 
spoon. Turn out upon broad dishes, well buttered, and cool, and, 
as soon as it can be handled, pull. It can be pulled beautifully 

white and porous. 

Vinegar Candy, No. 2. 

To one quart of good New Orleans molasses, add one cup of 

good cider vinegar; boil until it reaches the point where a little 

dropped into cold water becomes very hard and brittle. Pour into 

shallow platters until cool enough to be handled, and form into a 

large roll, which may be drawn dowai to any size and cut off in 

sticks. 

"Walnut Candy. 

The meats of hickory-nuts, English walnuts, or black walnuts 
may be used according to preference in that regard. After 
removal from the shells in as large pieces as practicable, they are 
to be placed on the bottoms of tins, previously greased, to the 
depth of about a half inch. Next, boil two pounds of brown sugar, 
a half pint of water, and one gill of good molasses until a portion 
of the mass hardens when cooled. Pour the hot candy on the 
meats and allow it to remain until hard. 

Meringues. 
Take one pound of powdered sugar, and add to it the beaten 
whites of eight eggs (slowly), until it forms a stiff froth; fill a 
tablespoon with the paste, and smooth it over with another spoon 
to the desired shape; sift a little sugar over a sheet of paper, drop 
the meringues about two inches apart; dust a little sugar over 
them, and bake in a quick oven with the door left open part way, 
so they can be continually watched; when fawn colored, take 
them out; remove them from the pajier with a thin knife; scrape 
out of each a little of the soft part. They may be neatly arranged 



CONFECTIONERY. 99 

around a dish of whipped cream, or filled with ice cream. If 
Avhipped cream is used, they would be improved by the addition of 
a little bright jelly inside each meringue. 

Cream Meehstgues. 
Four eggs (the whites only), whipped stiff, with one pound pow° 
■dered sugar, lemon or vanilla flavoring. When very stiff, heap in 
the shape of half an egg upon stiff letter-paper lining the bottom of 
your baking pan. Have them half an inch apart. Do not shut the 
oven door closely, but leave space through which you can watch 
them. When they are a light yellow-brown, take them out and 
cool quickly. Slip a thin bladed knife under each; scoop out the 
soft inside and fill Avith cream whipped as for charlotte russe. They 
are very fine. The oven should be very hot. 

Macaroon. 
Pound in a mortar one pound of blanched sweet almonds and one 
and one-fourth pounds of lump sugar until they are fine; then add 
one-half pound of corn starch, one-fourth pound of rice or wheat 
flour; mix into a fine smooth batter with the whites of about eight 
<?ggs. Drop the mixture in small quantities through a cornucopia 
on a sheet of paper, dust with sugar, and bake in a steady oven. 
They should be baked a fawn color. 

Bachelor Buttons. 
Rub two ounces of butter into five ounces of flour; add five 
ounces of white sugar; add one beaten egg; flavor; roll into small 
balls with the hands; sprinkle with sugar. Bake on tins covered 
with buttered paper. 

Corn Starch Rateffes. 
One-fourth pound sweet and the same of bitter almonds, one-half 
pound corn starch, one-fourth pound of rice flour, one and one- 
fourth pounds of pulverized sugar, the whites of eight eggs. Pro- 
ceed the same as for macaroons, only drop one-fourth the size. 
Do not dust with sugar, and bake in a hotter oven. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CATSUPS. 

'OOD home-made catsup is a most valuable addition to the 
store-room, and a good housekeei^er will always look with 
pride upon it as it stands upon the shelves in closely-corked 
bottles, neatly labeled, feeling, as she may, that she possesses close 
at hand the means of imparting a delicious flavor to her sauces and 
gravies without at the same time placing any deleterious compound 
before her friends. Though excellent preparations are no doubt 
sold by respectable dealers, the superiority of catsup when made at 
home is undisputed, and the comfortable certainty attending its use 
is so great, that we would earnestly recommend every lady who has 
the time and opportunity to do so, to superintend personally the 
manufacture of that which is used in the kitchen. It is not well, 
however, to make a very large quantity, as it is rarely improved by 
being long kept. Catsup should be stored in a cool, dry place; the 
corks should be covered with resin, and the liquid should be exam- 
ined frequently, and if there are the slightest signs of fermentation 
or mold, it should be re-boiled with a few pepper-corns, and put 
into fresh, dry bottles. Always select perfect fruit, and cook in a 
porcelain-lined kettle. 

Currant Catsup. 

Boil five pints of ripe currants in one pint of vinegar until soft 5 
strain all through a sieve, then add three pints of sugar, and one 
tablespoonful each of cinnamon and allspice; boil about one hour.. 

100 



CATSUPS. 101 

Cucumber Catsup. 
Take one-half bushel of full-grown cucumbers, peel and chop 
them, sprinkle them with salt, aud put them in a sieve and let them 
stand over night; add two dozen onions, cut up small, one-half 
pound white mustard seed, one-half pound of black mustard seed, 
two ounces of black pepper, ground. Mix well with the best cider 
vinegar, making it the consistency of thick catsup, and fill your 
jars, tying up closely. It requires no cooking, 

GOOSEBEEEY CaTSUP. 

Ten pounds of gooseberries, six pounds of sugar, one quart of 
vinegar, three tablespoonfuls cinnamon, one tablespoonful each of 
allspice and cloves. Mash the gooseberries thoroughly; scald and 
put through the colander; add the sugar and spices, and boil fifteen 
minutes, then add the vinegar; bottle immediately. Ripe grapes 
may be prepared in the same manner. 

Plum Catsup. 

To three pounds of fruit put one and three-foui'ths pounds of 
sugar, one tablespoonful of cloves, one tablespoonful of cinnamon, 
one tablespoonful of pepper, a very little salt; scald the plums and 
put them through a colander; then add sugar and spices, and boil 
to the right consistency. 

Tomato Catsup. 

Take sound ripe tomatoes, slice and cook until done enough to 
put through a sieve; then to every gallon of the pulp and juice add 
one cup of chopped onion, one-half cup of black pepper, four pods 
of red pepper, cut fine, one-half cup of ground ginger and mustard 
mixed, one ounce celery seed, one-half cup of allspice, nutmeg and 
cinnamon, mixed, one-half teaspoonful cloves, two cups of sugar, 
and sufficient salt to taste distinctly, one pint strong cider vinegar; 
put all together and cook two hours, or longer if not thick enough. 
It must not be thin or watery. Bottle and seal while hot, an<? 
in a good cellar it will keep two years. 



102 CATSUPS. 

Tomato Catsup, No. 2. 
One bushel of good ripe tomatoes, one-half gallon of cider vine- 
gar, one-fourth pound of allspice, two ounces of cloves, three 
tablespoonfuls of black pepper, six large onions or two heads of 
garlic, one pint of salt, four large red peppers; cook thoroughly, 
and strain through a sieve, then boil till it is thick enough, and 
(.dd the vinegar. 



CHAPTER VII. 

DESSERTS. 

Puddings. 

ITHOTJT pretending to make a skillful cook by book, -we 
ifl believe that any intelligent beginner may compound a good 
tj'^- pudding by attending to the following simple rules and 
plain directions: Attention is all that is required, and a little 
manual dexterity in turning the pudding out of the mold or cloth. 
Let the several ingredients be each good and fresh of its kind, aa 
one bad ai'ticle, particularly eggs, will taint the whole composition 
Have the molds and pudding cloths carefully washed when used 
the cloths with wood ashes, and dried in the open air. Lay them 
aside sweet and thoroughly dry. Pudding ought to be put into 
plenty of boiling water, which must be kept on a quick boil; or, 
baked, in general in a sharp but not scorching oven. A pudding in 
which there is much bread must be tied loosely, to allow room for 
g-welling. A batter pudding should be tied up firmly. Molds 
should be quite full, Avell buttered and covered with a fold or two 
of paper floured and buttered. Eggs for puddings must be used 
in greater quantities when of small size. The yolks and whites, if 
the pudding is wanted particularly white and nice, should be 
strained after being separately well beaten. A little salt is neces- 
sary for all potato, bean, or pease jsuddings, and all puddings in 
which there is suet or meat, as it improves the flavor. The several 
ingredients, after being well stirred together, should in general 
have a little time to stand, that the flavors may l)Ier,d. A frequent 

fault of boiled puddings, which are often solid bodies, is being 

io;i 



104 DESSERTS. 

underdone. Baked puddings are as often scorched. Puddings 
may be steamed with advantage, placing the mold or basin in the 
steamer and keeping the water boiling under it. When the pud- 
ding-cloths are to be used, dip them in hot water, and dredge them 
with flour; the molds must be buttered. When a pudding begins 
to set, stir it iip in the dish, if it is desired that the fruit, etc., 
should not settle to the bottom; and, if boiled, turn over the cloth 
in the pot for the same reason, and also to prevent it sticking to the 
bottom, on which a plate may be laid as a jjreventive. The time 
of boiling must be according to size and solidity. When the pud- 
ding is taken out of the pot, dip it quickly into cold water. Set it 
in a basin of its size; it will then more readily separate from the 
cloth without breaking. Remember that sugar, butter, and suet 
become liquids in boiling; it is from their excess that puddings 
often break. Be, therefore, rather sparing of sugar; for if you 
have much syrup you must have more eggs and flour, which make 
puddings heavy. It is often the quantity of sugar that makes 
tapioca and arrowroot, boiled plain, troublesome to keep in shape 
when molded. Rice or other grain puddings must not be allowed 
to boil in the oven before setting, or the ingredients will separate 
and never set; so never put them in a very hot oven. As a rule, 
we may assume that such flavoring ingredients as lemon — grate or 
juice, vanilla and cocoanut, are more admired in modern puddings 
than cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Care must be taken to mix 
batter puddings smoothly. Let the dried flour be gradually mixed 
with a little of the milk, as in making starch, and afterwards, in 
nice cookery, strain it through a coarse sieve. Pi ddings are lighter 
boiled than baked. Raisins, prunes, and damsons, for puddings 
must be carefully stoned; or. Sultanas may be used in jilace of 
other raisins; currants must be picked and plunged in hot water, 
rubbed in a floured cloth, and plumped and dried before the fire; 
almonds must be blanched and sliced; and in mixing grated bread, 
pounded biscuit, etc., with milk, pour the milk on them while hot, 
and cover the vessel for an hour, which is both better and easier 



DESSERTS. 105 

than boiling. Suet must be quite fresh and free from fiber. Mut- 
ton suet for puddings is lighter than beef; but marrow, when it 
can be obtained, is richer than either. A baked pudding, for com- 
pany, has often a paste border, or a garnishing of blanched and 
sliced almonds about it, but these borders are merely matters of 
ornament; if molded, puddings may also be garnished in various 
ways, as with bits of currant jelly. The best seasoning for plain 
batter puddings are extracts of orange or lemon, or orange-flower 
water. The sweetness and flavor of pudding must, in most cases, 
be determined by individual tastes. Sugar can be added at table- 
To Young Housekeepers. 

All young housekeepers should learn as soon as possible how to 
prepare dishes for dessert which can be made on very short notice, 
that they may not be annoyed in the event of unexpected company' 
to diimer. In summer, fruit answers every purjjose, but at othe^' 
seasons, and particularly if the fii'st course is not very elaborate^ 
she will need to have something more substantial. A delicious 
pudding can be made in a few minutes by taking one pint of milk 
and stirring into it half a cup of cassava, half a cup of cocoanut, two 
eggs, a little butter, salt and sugar to taste; flavor with vanilla. 
Cook this as you would boiled custard. When cooked and put in 
the dish in which it is to be served, pour over the top the white of 
one egg beaten to a stiff froth, with a tablespoonful of pulverized 
sugar added. Set it in the oven for a short time to brown. This 
may be eaten warm or cold, with jelly or preserves or without. 
Another dish which is easily made and which is economical as well 
as palatable, is to take slices of cake which are a little dry and pour 
over them while hot some boiled custard; cover the dish quickly, 
and the hot custard will steam the cake sufficiently. Raisin cake 
steamed and served with some pudding sauce is good. Velvet 
cream, to be eaten with cake, is made in this way: Beat the whites 
of four eggs to a stiff froth; add two tablespoonfuls of sugar, two 
tablespoonfuls of currant jelly, two tablespoonfuls of raspberry 



106 DESSERTS. 

jam; beat all well together; cream may be added or not, as you 
choose. Oranges cut up, with sugar and grated cocoanut sprinkled 
over them are also nice for cake. 

Arrov/root Pudding. 

One quart milk, three and one-half tablespoonfuls arrowroot, four 
eggs, one cup sugar, one teaspoonful each of extract nutmeg and 
cinnamon. 

Boil the milk, add the arrowroot dissolved in a little water, 
and the sugar; let reboil; take from the fire; beat in the eggs, 
whipped a little, and the extracts; pour in a well-buttered earthen- 
ware dish, and bake in a quick oven one-half an hour; a few minutes 
before taking from the oven, sift two tablespoonfuls sugar over it, 
and set back to glaze. This pudding is generally eaten cold. 

Almoxd Puddixg. 
Two egg muffins, one cup almonds, blanched — pouring boiling 
water on them till the skin slips easily off — and pounded to a fine 
paste, one and one-half cups sugar, four eggs, one and one-half 
pints milk, one teaspoonful each of extract bitter almonds and rose. 
Cut off the top crust from muffins very thin; steep them in the 
milk; beat the yolks of the eggs and sugar with the almonds, then 
add the steeped muffins squeezed a little dry; dilute with the milk, 
add the extract, and put it thus prepared into a well-buttered 
earthenware dish; then stir gently in the whites beaten to a dry 
froth, and bake in a moderately quick oven about one-half hour. 

Pie-Plant Charlotte. 
Wash and cut the pie-plant into small pieces, cover the bottom 
of a pudding dish with a layer of pie-plant and sugar, then a layer 
of bread crumbs and bits of butter, or thin slices of bread nicely 
buttered, and so on until the dish is full. Bake three-quarters of 
an hour in a moderate oven. Allow a pound of sugar to a pound 
of fruit. If preferred, turn over the charlotte a boiled custard 
when ready for the table. 



DESSERTS. 107 

Croquettes of Rice. 
Put a quarter of a pound of rice, one pint of milk, three table- 
spoonfuls of finely-sifted sugar, a piece of butter the size of a small 
nut and the thin rind of a lemon, into a saucepan. Any other 
flavoring may be used if preferred. Simmer gently until the rice 
is tender and the milk absorbed. It must be boiled until thick 
and dry, or it will be difficult to mould into croquettes. Beat it 
thoroughly for three or four minutes, then turn it out, and when it 
is cold and still, form it into small balls; dip these in egg, sprinkle 
a few bread crumbs over 
them, and fry them in clar- 
ified fat till they are lightly 
and equally browned. Put 
them on a piece of clean ^^K 
blotting paper, to drain the 
fat from them, and serve 
them piled high on the dish. If it can be done without breaking 
them, it is an improvement to introduce a little jam into the middla 
of each one; or jam may be served with them. Time, about one 
hour to boil the rice, ten minutes to fry the croquettes. 

BOMBES AU Riz. 
Take half a pint of rice, put in three pints of boiling water, and 
salt. Let it boil fifteen minutes. At the end of that time drain 
the rice, pour on milk enough to cover it ; put it on the back part 
of the stove, where it will not burn, and let it absorb the milk; put 
in enough milk to make the rice soft. While the milk is being 
absorbed add four tablespoonfuls of sweetening andx)ne teaspoonful 
of flavoring. "When the rice is thoroughly tender take it from the 
fire and add the yolks of three egg?: If the rice is not hot enough 
to thicken the eggs, put it back on the fire; stir constantly and let 
it remain just long enough to thicken, but don't let it burn. As 
soon as it thickens put it on a dish and rub with salad oil; then put 
it where it will get very cold. As soon as cold it is ready to use 




108 DESSERTS. 

for rice croquets or bombes. Take a tablespoonful of rice ia 
your hand and flatten it; put a plum or any sweetmeat in the 
center, roll the rice round the sweetmeat, roll in cracker dust, dip 
in egg, then roll in the cracker dust again. Fry in smoking hot 
lard and, serve hot or cold. 

Green Corn Pudding. 
A most delicious accompaniment to a meat course. Take one 
quart of milk, five eggs, two tablespoonfuls melted butter, one 
tablespoonful white sugar, and a dozen large ears green corn; grate 
the corn from the cob; beat the whites and the yolks of the eggs 
separately; put the corn and yolks together, stir hard and add the 
butter, then the milk gradually, beating all the while, next the 
sugar, and a little salt, lastly the whites. Bake slow at first, cover- 
ing the dish for an hour; remove the cover and brown nicely. 

Cottage Pudding. 

One cup milk, two of flour, three teaspoonfuls baking powder, 
two tablespoonfuls melted butter, one egg, one cup of sugar. Steam 
thi'ee-quarters, or bake one hour. Serve with sauce. 

Cranberry Roll. 

Stew a quart of cranberries in just water enough to keep them 
from burning. Make very SM^eet, strain, and cool. Make a paste, 
and when the cranberry is cold, spread it on the paste about an inch 
thick. Roll it, tie it close in a flannel cloth, boil two hours and 
serve with a sweet sauce. Stewed apples or other fruit may be used 
in the same way. 

Delmonico Pudding. 

One quart scalded milk, three tablespoonfuls corn starch, moist- 
ened with a little cold milk; stir into the boiling milk the yolks of 
six eggs well beaten, four tablespoonfuls sugar; stir all together. 
Take it off the fire, flavor it, and put into a pudding dish. Then 
beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, spread over the top, and 
brown in the oven. 



DESSERTS. lOQ- 

Eve's Pudding. 
Take equal quantities of flour, fresh butter, and sugar, six ounces 
)f each; beat the butter to a cream, and beat the sugar and flour 
into it. Separate the yolks from the whites of four eggs, beat them 
until light, and add the yolks first, then the whites, to the batter, 
and lastly half a dozen almonds, blanched and pounded, and the 
grated rind of a lemon. Beat well, and fill small cups to about 
half; then set before the fire to rise. In five minutes put them into 
the oven and bake for half an hour. 

Fig Pudding. 
Half a pound figs, half cup suet, half a pound bread crumbs, one 
tablespoonful sugar, three eggs, one cup milk; chop the suet and 
figs fine, add some cinnamon and nutmeg, and a glass of wine, if 
you choose, or leave it out if you prefer. Boil it three hours — 
sauce. 

Fruit Pudding. 

Take one cup each sweet milk, suet (minced), raisins, currants,, 
and molasses. Stiffen with bread crumbs and a little flour, having 
added three teaspoonfuls baking powder to the flour and crumbs; 
boil or steam till done. This pudding is equally as good the second 
day as the first. 

Baked Farina Pudding. 

Stir into a quart of milk when boiling one-half pound farina, cook 
it five minutes and set it aside to cool, meanwhile stir four ounces 
of butter to a cream, grate the rind of a lemon and add the yolk of 
six eggs, one cup each of sugar, raisins, and currants, and mix all 
well together with the cooked farina. Beat the whites of the eggs 
to a froth, stir it into the batter, and bake slowly for an hour. 

Plain Fruit Pudding. 
Take one and a half cups of flour, one cup of bread crumbs, one 
cup of raisins, half a cup of currants, two nutmegs, one cup of suet 
chopped fine, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, four eggs, a wine glass 



110 DESSERTS. 

of brand}'-, a wine glass of syrup, and a little milk if necessary. Mix 
very thoroughly; tie it in a cloth as tight as possible, and boil fast 
for five or six hours. Serve with wine sauce. 

Florentine Pudding. 

Put a quart of milk into your pan, let it come to a boil; mix 
smoothly three tablespoonfuls of corn starch and a little cold milk; 
add the yolks of three eggs beaten, half a cup of sugar, flavor with 
vanilla, lemon, or anything your fancy suggests; stir into the 
scalding milk, continue stirring till of the consistency of starch (ready 
for use), then put into the pan or dish you wish to serve it in; beat 
the whites of the eggs with a cup of pulverized sugar, and spread over 
the top; place in the oven a few minutes, till the frosting is a pretty 
brown. Can be eaten with cream, or is good enough without. For 
a change, you can bake in cups. 

Gelatine Pudding. 
One ounce gelatine, one pint cold milk; set on range, and let 
come slowly to a boil, stirring occasionally; separate the yolks and 
whites of six fresh eggs; beat the yolks well and stir slowly into 
hot milk; add half a pound of granulated sugar; when quite cold, 
stir in a quart of whipped cream; flavor with vanilla and lemon 
extract mixed; have the whites of the eggs beaten very stiff, and 
stir in the last thing; pack on ice. 

Ginger Pudding. 
One egg, one cup of molasses, half a cup butter, half a cup of 
fruit, half a cup of hot water, one tablespoonful of ginger, one 
teaspoonful of soda. Stir stiff and steam one hour. 

Sauce for Ginger Pudding. — One egg, one cup sugar, one-third 
of a cup of butter, one tablespoonful of flour, one and one-half 
tablespoonfuls of lemon. Pour boiling water in and make like thin 
starch. 

Honey Comb Pudding. 

Three cups flour, one cup beef suet, one cup milk, one cup 



DESSERTS. Ill 

molasses, one cup raisins, currants or whortleberries in the season, 
one teaspoonful soda, a little salt. Boil or steam three hours — 
sauce. 

Huckleberry Pudding. 

One cup sugar, one-half cup butter, two of milk, two eggs, two 
cups of berries, one teaspoonful of soda, two of cream of tartar, salt. 
Mix stiff as gingerbread. Boil two hours in a tin pail. Serve with 
sauce. 

Hen's Nest. 

Make blanc mange, j^our in egg shells and set to cool; when cold, 
break the egg shells, place in glass dish, cut strips of lemon peel 
and let boil in syrup of sugar and water till tender, and sprinkle on 
the egg shapes, and make custard and pour over the nest. 

Indian Pudding. 

Stir a pint of com meal into a quart of boiling milk; melt four 
ounces of butter; mix it first with a pint of molasses, and then, 
very gradually, with the meal. Flavor with nutmeg and grated 
lemon peel, or cinnamon, and as soon as the mixture has cooled, 
add, stirring briskly, six well-beaten eggs. Butter a dish and bake 
at once. 

Apple Pudding. 

A loaf of stale bread, steamed twenty minutes before dinner, 
sliced, spread with stewed apple, and a little butter, strewn with 
sugar and browned lightly in a quick oven, makes as good a pud- 
ding as any one would like, with either hard or liquid sauce. 

Apple Batter Pudding. 
Six or eight fine juicy apples, pared and cored, one quart of milk, 
ten tablespoonfuls of flour, six eggs, beaten very light, one table- 
spoonful butter — melted, one saltspoonful of salt, one-half tea- 
spoonful soda, one teaspoonful cream of tartar. Set the apples 
close together, in the baking dish; put in enough cold water to half 
cover them, ar:^ Vialce. closely covered, until the edges are clear, but 



112 DESSERTS. 

not until they begin to break. Drain off the water, and let the 
fruit get cold before pouring over them a batter made of the ingre- 
dients enumerated above. Bake in a quick oven. Serve in the 
baking dish, and eat with sauce. 

Apple Float. 
To one quart of apples partially stewed and well mashed, put the 
whites of three eggs well beaten, and four heaping tablespoonf uk 
loaf sugar; beat them together fifteen minutes, and eat with rich 
milk and nutmeg. 

Apple Slump. 

One quart flour sifted Avith three teaspoonfuls baking powder; 
shorten with one teaspoonful butter rubbed into the flour. Mix 
with cold milk or water, the same as for biscuit. Put two 
quarts of pared, sliced or quartered apples with one pint of water 
mto the dish in which the slump is to be cooked. Roll the crust 
about an inch thick, cut into quarters and with it cover the apples 
in the dish; then cover the whole with a close fitting cover, and 
boil or steam till done. Take out on a platter and grate nutmeg 
over the apple. Serve with a sweet sauce or sugar and cream. 

Baked Apple Dumplings. 
To one quart flour add two heaping teaspoonfuls baking powder, 
and the usual quantity of salt. Thoroughly mix while dry and 
sift. Then take one tablespoonf ul lard and one tablespoonful but- 
ter and chop them into the flour prepared as above. Then mix 
with sweet milk to a thin dough, just stiff enough to handle^ 
Roll it out half an inch thick and cut into squares. 

Apples Surprised. 
Peel, core, and slice about five nice cooking apples, sprinkle the 
slices with a spoonful of flour, one of grated bread, and a little 
sugar. Have some lard quite hot in a small stew-pan, put the slices 
of apple in it, and ivy of a light yellow; when all are done, take 
a piece of butter the size of a walnut, and a good spoonful of grated 



DESSERTS. 113 

bread, a spoonful of sugar, and a cup of milk; put into the pan, 
and when they boil up throw in the apple slices, hold the whole 
over the fire for two minutes, when it will be ready to serve. 

Amber Pudding. 
Six eggs beaten light, one cup of cream, creamed with one-half 
cup of butter, juice of a lemon, and half the grated peel, a good 
pnch of nutmeg, puff paste. Mix sugar, butter, eggs, together; 
put into a custard kettle, set in hot water, and stir until it thickens. 
Stir in lemon and nutmeg, and let it get cold. Put a strip of paste 
around the edge of a pie plate; print it prettily; pour in the cold 
mixture, and bake in a steady, not too hot oven. Eat cold. 

Ambrosia. 
Eight fine oranges, peeled and sliced, one-half grated cocoanut, 
one-half cup of powdered sugar. Arrange slices of orange in a 
glass dish; scatter grated cocoanut thickly over them; sprinkle this 
lightly with sugar, and cover with another layer of orange. Fill 
the dish in this order, having a double quantity of cocoanut and 
sugar at top. Serve soon after it is prepared. 

Apple Omelette. 

Six large pippins or other large tart apples, one tablespoonful of 
butter, three eggs, six tablespoonfuls of white sugar, nutmeg to the 
taste, and one teaspoonful of rose water; pare, core, and stew the 
apples, as for sauce; beat them very smooth while hot, adding 
butter, sugar, and flavoring; when quite cold, add the eggs, beaten 
eepai-ately very light; put in the whites last and pour into a deep 
fcake-dish previously warmed and well buttered. Bake in a mod- 
erate oven until it is delicately browned. Eat warm — not hot. A 
wholesome dish for children. 

Apple Charlotte. 

Butter your ]iudding dish, line it with bread buttered on both 
sides; put a thick layer of apples, cut in thin slices, sugar, a little 
cinnamon and butter on top, then another layer of bread, apples. 



114 DESSERTS. 

sugar, cinnamon and butter last. Bake slowly one and a half 
hours, keeping the pan covered until half an hour before serving; 
let the apples brown on top. 

Baxcroft Pudding. 
One tablespoonful melted butter, one cup sugar, one egg well 
beaten, one pint flour, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar, one of soda,^ 
one cup sweet milk; beat well and bake thirty minutes. 

Bread Pudding. 
One pint fine bread crumbs to one quart of milk, one cup sugar, 
yolks of four eggs, well beaten, grated rind of lemon, piece of 
butter size of an egg. Don't let it bake till watery. Whip the 
whites of the eggs with one cup sugar to a stiff froth, and put into 
this the juice of the lemon; spread over the pudding a layer of 
jelly or other sweemeat; then spread the whites of eggs over this, 
and replace in the oven and bake lightly. 

Banana and Apple Tart. 

Make crust of fine flour and fresh butter. Make little crust, but 
make it good. Slice apples fine and put in dish with three or four 
bananas sliced, only adding sugar and perhaps a little syrup, if you 
have got it. Cover crust over fruit; brush a little melted butter 
over top, strew white sugar on and bake twenty minutes or more, 
as required. 

Bird's Nest Pudding. 

Pare, quarter and core nice tart apples; butter a pie tin and slice 
the apples in it; make a batter of one cup cream (sour and not very 
rich), one teaspoonful soda, one egg, a little salt, and flour enough 
to make a stiff batter. Pour this over the apples and bake; when 
done turn bottom side up and spread thickly with good sweet 
butter and sugar. To be eaten warm. 

Bird's Nest Pudding, No. 2, 
Take eight or ten nice apples, pare whole and core; place in a 



DESSERTS. llo 

pudding dish; fill the cores with sugar and nutmeg. Make a cus- 
tard of five eggs to one quart of milk, sweeten to taste; pour this 
over the apples and bake half an hour. 

Cabinet Pudding. 
In making it use one pint of milk, six eggs, and a quantity of 
stale cake — stale bread could be used. The tin must be carefully 
greased with buttei-, and around the inside place bits of fruit. For 
this, citron, cherries, currants, or any kind of di-ied fruit, could be 
used. Over this is jDut a layer of light colored cake, sponge cake 
perhaps, and the center is filled to near the top of the dish with 
broken up pieces. Upon this is poured the custard made of the 
€ggs and milk thoroughly beaten up and flavored to suit the taste. 
The dish is then placed in a kettle of boiling water, the water 
coming up within about two-thirds of the way to the tojx The pot 
is covered and boiled until done thoroughly. 

Cream Batter Pudding. 

Take one cup of sour cream and rub with one cup of flour until 
smooth; then pour in one cup of sweet milk, three eggs — the yolks 
and whites beaten separately, a little salt and two-thirds of a tea- 
spoonful of soda. Bake in a quick oven. To be eaten with cream 
and sugar. 

Cracker Pudding. 

Four crackers pounded and sifted, small piece of butter, one and 
one-half pints milk, scalded and poured on the cracker and butter, 
four eggs, sugar to sweeten, nutmeg. 

Chocolate PTrDDrN"G. 

One quart of sweet milk, three ounces grated chocolate. Scald 
the milk and chocolate together; when cool, add the yolks of five 
eggs and one cup sugar. Bake about twenty-five minutes; beat 
the whites from the top; brown in the oven; eat cold. 
Charlotte Pudding. 

Remove the crust from a loaf of bread, dip in milk, and spread 



116 DESSERTS. 

the slices with butter. Pare and cut apples very tliin. Lay the 
bread in a buttered dish, spread over the apples, sweeten and flavor 
with the juice and grated rind of a lemon. Bake till the apples are 
tender. 

Cottage Pudding. 

Warm two and one-half tablespoonf uls butter, stir in a cup of sugar 
and two eggs well beaten, two teaspoonfuls cream of tartar in one 
pint flour, one teaspoonful soda dissolved in one cup milk, flavor 
with nutmeg or lemon. Bake three-quarters of an hour and serve 
hot with sauce. 

CUSTAED BbEAD PuDDING. 

Two Clips fine dry crumbs; one quart of milk; five eggs, beaten 
light; one tablespoonf ul corn starch; one teaspoonfnl of salt, and 
one-half teaspoonful of soda, dissolved in milk; fiavor to taste. 
Soak the crumbs in the milk, and lieat in a custard kettle to a boil. 
Add the corn starch wet with cold milk, cook one minute, turn out 
and beat hard. When smooth and almost cold, whip in the yolks, 
the flavoring, lastly, the whites. Boil in a buttered mold an hour 
and a half. Eat hot with sweet sauce. It is excellent. 

CocoANUT Pudding. 
Take suflicient stale bread to make a pudding, the size you 
require; pour boiling water over it. After it is soaked well, take a 
fork and see that no lumps of bread remain; tlien add half a cup of 
grated cocoaniit, make a custard of one quart of milk, and four 
eggs, flavor with nutmeg (of course you will sweeten it with white 
sugar) ; pour over and bake immediately. 

Cream Pudding. 
One quart of milk; one cup of hot boiled rice well cooked but 
not broken; one cup of sugar; one heaping tablespoonf ul of corn 
starch; five eggs; one-fourth teaspoonful of cinnamon and the same 
of grated lemon peel. Heat the milk, stir in the corn starch wet 
u]) with cold milk; then the beaten yolks and sugar. Add to these 
the heaping cup of boiled rice. Stir until it begins to thicken, add 



^iiiSSERTS. 117 

the seasoning, and pour into a buttered bake-dish. Bake until well 
"set;" spread with a meringue of the whites and a little sugar, 
made very stiff. When this has colored lightly, take from the 
oven. Make on Saturday, and set on ice until Sunday. The colder 

it is the bettei'. 

Crumb Pudding. 

Three eo'g yolks, one ounce of sugar, one ounce of bread crumbs, 
half a teaspoonf ul of cinnamon. Beat the egg-yolks, sugar, crumbs, 
and spice in a basin for five minutes. Add the three egg-whites 
beaten to a white snow (not too firm), bake in a buttered shallow 
tin or dish, and when quite cooled turn into a flat dish with the 
lower side upward, pour over it a glassful of wine boiled with a 
little sugar and spice, and serve while hot. 

Irish Rock. 

A sweet for dessert. Yv~ash the salt from half a pound of butter, 
and beat into it a quarter of a pound of finely powdered sugar; 
blanch a pound of sweet almonds and an ounce of bitter; pound 
these in a mortar, reserving enough of the sweet almonds to spike 
for ornamenting the dish when sent to table; add the butter and 
sugar, with a quarter of a glass of brandy, and pound until smooth 
and white; Avhen, after having become firm, it may be molded 
into a large egg-like shape, and stuck full of almond meats. It 
should be placed high on a glass dish, with a decoration of green 
sweetmeats and a sprig of myrtle, or garnish with any green fruits 

or sweetmeats. 

Jelly Rice. 
Mix four ounces of rice flour smoothly and gradually with a quart 
of cold milk; put them into a sauce pan, with a quarter of an ounce 
of clarified isinglass, the thin rind of half a lemon, four bitter 
almonds, blanched and pounded, and four ounces of sugar. Boil 
and stir briskly until quite thick; take out the lemon rind and pour 
the mixture into a damp mold. When it is firmly set, turn it on a 
glass dish, pour melted currant jelly, or any fruit syrup, round it, 
and send a dish of cream to table with it. 



118 DESSERTS. 

Jelly Custard. 
One quart of milk, six eggs — whites and yolks, one cup sugar, 
flavoring to taste, some red and yelloAV jelly, — raspberry is good for 
one, orange jelly for the other. Make a custard of the ego-s, milk 
and sugar; boil gently until it thickens well; flavor when cold; fill 
your custard glasses two-thirds full and heap up with the two kinds 
of jelly — the red upon some, the yellow upon others. 

Jelly Tartlets. 
Make the paste the same as for pies ; line small patty pans, prick- 
ing the paste in the bottom to keep it from puffing too high; bake 
in a quick oven and fill with jelly or jam. 

Kiss Pudding. 

Beat the yolks of three eggs and half a cup of sugar till light, 
add one and a half tablespoonfuls of corn starch, stir in one pint of 
boiling milk, stir on the stove till thick, pour in a pudding dish; 
beat the whites of the eggs with half a cup of sugar, spread over 
the top and brown. 

Lemon Pudding. 

One lemon grated, rind and pulp, one cup of sugar, one cup of 
water or sweet milk, four eggs, three tablespoonfuls of melted 
butter, two tablespoonfuls of flour. Line a deep dish with jjastry 
crusts, pour the custard in, bake thirty minutes. Beat the whites 
of three or four eggs to a stiff froth, sweeten, spread over the top 
of the pudding, and let brown slightly. 

Lemon Trifle. 
Two lemons — juice of both and grated rind of one, one cup 
sherry, one large cup of sugar, one pint cream well sweetened and 
whipped stiff, a little nutmeg. Strain the lemon juice before adding 
the wine and nutmeg. Strain again and whip gradually into the 
frothed cream. Serve in jelly glasses and send around cake with 
it. It should be eaten soon after it is made. 



DESSERTS. 119 

Lemon Pudding. 

Two eggs, four tablespoonfuls of flour, one-half cup sweet cream, 
one cup sweet milk, one tablespoonful butter, one cup sugar, grated 
rind and juice of one-half lemon. Bake in a moderate over. 
Meringue Rice Pudding. 

Take a cup of rice to one pint of water; when the rice is boiled 
dry add one pint milk, a piece of butter size of an egg, and five 
eggs. Beat the yolks, and grated rind of a lemon, and mix with 
the rice. Butter a dish; pour in the mixture, and bake lightly. 
Beat the whites to a stiff froth; add a cup of sugar and the juice of 
a lemon. When the pudding is nearly done, spread on this frosting, 
and bake in a slow oven till the top is light brown. 

Malagan Pudding. 
One-third cup rice, one cup sugar, two eggs, one pint milk, half a 
lemon and salt. Soak the rice over night. Beat the yolks of the 
eggs with one tablespoonful of the sugar, and grate in the lemon 
rind; add the rice and milk. Bake one hour. Take the whites of 
the eggs and beat to a stiff froth with the rest of the sugar, then 
add the lemon juice. Pour it over the pudding after it is baked, 
and brown it in the oven two or three minutes. To be eaten cold. 

Mitchell Pudding. 
One cup raisins, one cup chopped suet or butter, one cup molasses 
— some like one cup sugar with two spoonfuls molasses better — one 
cup sour milk, one teaspoonful soda, salt, flour to make a stiff 
batter. Steam three or four hours. Sauce. 

Maud's Pudding. 
Six eggs, ten tablespoonfuls flour, butter the size of an egg, salt; 
mix to a light batter with sweet milk and baking powder in flour — 
it will rise high, bake in ten minutes in a quick oven — put into the 
oven just as dinner is being served so it will not fall before coming 
to the table. Serve with cream flavored with lemon or other 
extract to taste. 



120 



DESSERTS. 



Orange Pudding. 
Soak the crumbs of a French roll in milk, let it drain in a colander 
for half an hour, break it with a spoon in a basin, add two ounces 
of sugar, grated, one ounce of butter, warmed, the yolks of four 
eggs, the juice of four oranges, the grated rind of one, and finally 
the four egg-whites beaten (not too stiffly) on a plate with a knife, 
and bake in a buttered dish in a quick oven. The pudding will be 
equally good boiled in a mold for an hour and a half, and served 
with a sweet sauce. 

Christmas Plum Pudding. 
Shred finely three-quarters of a pound of beef suet, and add to it 
a pinch of salt, one poixnd and a half of l)read crumbs, half a pound 
of flour, three-quarters of a pound of raisins, three-quarters of a 
pound of currants, incked and dried, two ounces of candied lemon 
and citron together, and half a large nutmeg. Mix these thor- 
oughly, then add four eggs 
and milk enough to moisten 
it, but not too much or the 
pudding will be heavy. Tie 
in a pudding cloth, well 
^ floured, and boil for five or 
six hours; or, we think bet- 
ter when boiled in a mold' 
which should be well buttered before the mixture is put in. The 
mold should not be quite full and should be covered with one or 
two folds of paper, buttered and floured, and then with a floured 

pudding cloth. 

Plux Pudding. 

One pound of raisins, one of currants, one of suet chopped fine, 
and add three-quarters of a pound of stale bread crumbs, one- 
quarter pound of flour, one-quarter pound of brown sugar, rind of 
one lemon (chopped fine), one-half nutmeg grated, five eggs, one- 
half pound mixed candied peel, one-half pint of brandy; mix well 




DESSERTS. 121 

the diy ingredients; beat the eggs with the brandy; pour this over 
the other things and thoroughly mix; to be boiled in a basin or 
mold for six hours at the time of making, and six hours when 
wanted for use. 

English Plum Pudding. 

One pound beef suet, three-quarters pound bread crumbs (not 
flour), three-quarters pound raisins, three-quarters pound currants, 
two ounces sweet almonds, with two or three bitter ones, eight 
eggs, well beaten, one quarter pound citron, a glass of brandy and 
one of sherry wine; grate in one-half of a nutmeg, and sweeten to 
your taste; mix all these ingredients well; boil six hours in a bowl 
or cloth. When turned out and ready for the table, pour over 
brandy, set on fire and carry to table surrounded by blue flame. 
This quantity will be dessert for six persons. Two or three times 
the quantity may be made, boiled five hours, and set away for use 
New Year's, Easter, or any intervening birthday. It will be good 
at the end of twelve months. When wanted to use, boil two hours 
longer. 

Plum Pudding. 

One coffeecup of molasses, one coflPeecup of milk, one coffeecup 
of chopped suet, one coffeecup of chopped raisins, four coffeecups 
of flour, one teaspoonful of salt, three teaspoonfuls of baking pow- 
der, and one egg. Boil or steam three hours. Flavor with wine, 
or extract of orange, on sauce. 

Rich Plum Pudding. 
• Beat up eight eggs, yolks and whites separately, and strain; mix 
them with a pint of thick cream; stir in half a pound of flour and 
half a pound of bread crumbs rubbed through the colander; when 
well mixed beat in one pound of beef suet, chopped very fine, one 
pound of currants, one pound of finely chopped raisins, one pound 
of powdered sugar, two ounces of candied lemon, and two of citron, 
and a nutmeg grated; mix up all with half a pint of brandy or of 
wine; boil in a cloth for six or seven hours. Any of these Chri.st- 



122 DESSERTS. 

mas puddings may be kept for a month after boiling, if the cloth in 
which they are made be replaced by a clean one, and the puddings 
be hung to the ceiling of a kitchen or any warm store-room; they 
will then be ready for use, and will require only one hour's boiling 
to heat them thoroughly. 

Baked Plum Pudding. 

One and a half cups of suet, chopped fine, one cup of raisins, stoned, 
one-half cup of milk, one cup of currants, one teaspoonful of 
saleratus, one-half cup of citron, chopped, one-half teaspoonful each 
of spice and salt, one-half cup sugar, one-half cup of molasses, two 
eggs, flour enough for a stiff batter. Bake two hours and serve 
with sauce. 

Poor Man's Pudding. 

Take one quart of milk, six eggs, six tablespoonfuls of flour, and 
a little salt. Bake half an hour. Use butter and sugar dip. 

Raisin Puffs. 
Two eggs, one-half cup butter, three teaspoonfuls baking powder, 
two tablespoonfuls sugar, two cups of flour, one of milk, one of 
raisins, chopped very fine. Steam one-half hour in small cups. 

RoLY Poly Pudding. 
The pastry for this favorite pudding may be made in several 
different ways, according to the degree of richness required. For 
a superior pudding, mix a pound of flour with half a pound of very 
finely shred suet, freed from skin and fibre; add a good pinch of 
salt, an egg, and nearly half a pint of milk; roll it out to a long thin 
form, a quarter of an inch thick, and of a width to suit the size of 
the saucepan in which it is to be boiled; spread over it a layer of 
any kind of jam, berries, or fruit, and be careful that the sauce 
does not reach the edges of the pastry. Begin at one end and roll 
it up, to fasten the fruit inside, moisten the edges and press them 
securely together; dip a cloth in boiling water, flour it well, and 
tie the pudding tightly in it; put it into a saucepan of boiling 



DESSERTS. 123 

water, at the bottom of which a plate has been laid to keep the 
pudding from burning, and boil quickly until done. If it is neces- 
sary to add more water, let it be boiling when put in, or the pud- 
ding may be steamed. Marmalade, sliced lemon or orange and 
sugar, chopped apples, or currants, may be used for filling. If 
boiled, it will require from an hour and a half to two hours to 
boil. 

Rice Pudding. 

One quart of milk, one cup of rice (boiled), three eggs, two 
tablespoonfuls of sugar, and one teaspoonful of extract of lemon, 
vanilla, or orange. 

Sago Pudding. 

One quart rich, sweet milk, four tablespoonfuls of sago, four 
eggs, one cup sugar, and flavoring; soak sago over night in water; 
then beat yolks of eggs, sugar, and sago together; add milk and 
flavoring; set a basin in the steamer, pour in the mixture and 
steam one hour; beat whites with one tablespoonful of sugar to a 
stiff froth; spread over pudding and brown in oven five minutes; 
stir while steaming or the sago will settle to the bottom. 

Suet Pudding. 
One small cup of suet cut fine, one cup of molasses, one cup 
chopped raisins, one cup sour milk, half a teaspoonful each of 
cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg, and one teaspoonful of soda. Stir 
thick with flour, and put in pudding bag, leaving room to rise, and 
boil three hours. 

Steamed Pudding. 
One cup of sugar, one-half cup of butter, three eggs, one cup of 
milk, three heaping teaspoonfuls of baking powder, and three cups 
of flour; steam one hour. 

Snow Pudding, 
Pour one pint of boiling water on half a box of gelatine; add 
juice of one lemon and two cups sugar; when nearly cold, strain it, 
add the whites of three eggs beaten to a stiff froth, then beat all 



124 DESSERTS. 

well together again, put it into a mold to shape it, and let it cool. 
Take the yolks of these eggs, one pint milk, and one teaspoonful 
corn starch, flavor with vanilla; cook this like any soft custard, put 
the hard part of the j^udding into a dish, when you want to serve it, 
with the custard round it. 

Steamed Pudding. 
One cup sweet milk, two-thirds cuj) butter, one cup molasses, one 
cup chopped raisins, three cups flour, two-thirds teaspoonful soda. 
Put into a covered pail and steam three hours. 

Strawberry Short Cake. 

Rub into one quart of flour five ounces of lard, a pinch of salt, 
and three tablespoonfuls of baking powder; add gradually enough 
milk to make a soft dough; divide into four parts; roll one part 
out lightly; cover a straight-sided Vienna cake tin with it. Roll 
out another part and lay it on top of the first. Proceed in the same 
way with the other two parts, usii.g mother baking tin. Bake 
quickly, and when done, while hot, lift the upper part from each 
pan, butter the inner surfaces, and place between the two crusts a 
layer, an inch thick, of fresh berries, mashed and sweetened. Serve 
immediately, with cream. A raspberry shortcake may be made 
with the same pastry. 

Custard to pour over Strawberry Shortcake. — One cup sugar, one 
tablespoonful corn starch, on. _gg, and one pint of milk. Flavor 
and cook as custard. 

StuatTBTIIKTIT Shortcake, No. 2. 
Mix a saltspoonful of salt wath a pound of flour; chop in three 
tablespoonfuls of butter; dissolve a teaspoonful of soda in a little 
hot water, and add with a well-beaten egg to a large cup of sour 
cream or rich " lobbered " milk, and a tablespoonful of sugar. Put 
all together, handling as little as possible, and mix as soft as can be 
rolled. Roll lightly and quickly into two sheets, and bake in round 
tins, well greased, laying one sheet on the other. When done. 



DESSERTS. 125 

separate, they will part where they were joined. Lay on the 
lower sheet a thick layer of strawberries, and dust with powdered 
sugar. If desired, strawberries can be placed on top and sugared 
as before. Serve with sweet cream. If the strawberries are just 
heated a little and crushed lightly with a spoon and then put 
between the crusts, it is much improved. 

Tapioca Pudding. 

Put a cup of tapioca and a teaspoonful of salt into a pint and a 
half of water and let it stand a couple of hours where it will be 
quite warm and not cook. Peel six tart apples, take out their cores 
and fill them with sugar in which is grated a little nutmeg and 
lemon peel, and put them in a pudding dish. Over these pour the 
*,apioca, first mixing with it a tablespoonful of melted butter and a 
little cold milk. Bake one hour. Eat with sauce. 

Tapioca Pudding, No. 2. 

One cup tapioca, soaked in water an hour, one quart milk, three 
eggs, one cup sugar. Bake. 

To Cook Rice. 

To cook rice so that the grains will be whole and tender, wash it 
in cold water until the water looks clear, then cook it rapidly in 
boiling water for fifteen minutes, after which drain and place the 
covered saucepan on the back of the stove to steam until the grains 
crack open and are tender, which will be about fifteen minutes 
longer. 

Vegetable Pudding. 

Half a pound of carrots, half a pound of cold, mashed potatoes, 
the same of flour, suet, sugar, four ounces candied lemon peel, one- 
quarter of a pound of currants. Boil slowly for two hours. 

Whipped Syllabubs. 
One pint of cream, rich and sweet, one-half cup sugar, powdered, 
one glass of wine, vanilla, or other extract one large teaspoonful. 



126 DESSERTS. 

Sweeten the cream, and, when the sugar is thoroughly dissolved, 
stir in the wine carefully with the flavoring extract, and churn to a 
strong froth. Heap in glasses and eat with cake. 

Yaxkee Pudding. 

One cup of molasses, one cup of sour milk or buttermilk, one-half 
cup sugar, two teaspoonf uls of butter, two teaspoonfuls of saleratus, 
one teaspoonf ul of gingei-, same of cinnamon, five of flour, one egg, 
bake in a shallow pan. 

Sauce. — One pint of milk or cream, half cup sugar, white of one 
egg, beaten lightly, one teaspoonf ul of corn starch; flavor with 
nutmeg. Boil one minute. 

PuDDixG Sauce. 
A nice and easily made sauce for plum and all kinds of rich pud- 
dings may be made as follows: Beat the yolks of two eggs, and 
add four ounces of powdered sugar and half a pint of Madeira, and 
set it upon a slow fire and stir until it becomes smooth, and 
thickens. Serve in a sauce-tureen. 

Sweet Sauce. 

Sweeten a little good, melted butter, and flavor it with grated 
lemon rind, nutmeg, or powdered cinnamon, strew a little of the 
grate over the top, and serve in a tureen. A little wine or brandy 
may be added at pleasure. This sauce is suitable for almost all 
ordinary boiled puddings. 

Fruit Sauce. 

Boil fruit (almost any kind may be used) with a little water until 
it is quite soft; rub it through a fine sieve; sweeten to taste; make 
it hot, and pour over boiled or steamed puddings. 

Fruit Pudding Sauce. 
One-half cup butter, two and one-half cups sugar, one dessert- 
spoonful corn starch wet in a little cold milk, one lemon— juice and 
half the grated peel, one glass of wine, one cup boiling water. 



DESSERTS. 12? 

Cream the butter and sugar well; pour the corn starch into the 
boiling water, and stir over a clear fire until it is well thickened; 
put all together in a bowl and beat five minutes before returning to 
the saucepan. Heat once, almost to the boiling point, add the 
wine, and serve. 

Aeeoweoot Sauce. 

Mix a tablespoonful of arrowroot smoothly with a little cold 
water; add a thii-d of a pint of water, a glass of wine, the juice of 
a lemon, and sugar and flavoring; stir the sauce over the fire till 
it boils. This sauce may be varied by omitting the wine, and using 
milk with the arrowroot. The juice of almost any fruit, too, may 
be boiled with the arrowroot. 

German Ccstaed Sauce. 

Four yolks eggs, two ounces powdered sugai*, grated rind of a 
lemon, a glass of sherry, and a little salt. Beat it sharply over a 
slow fire, until it assumes the appearance of a light, frothy custard. 
It is a good sauce. 

Pudding Sauce. 

Two eggs, two cups sugar, and one cup butter, one glass of wine ; 

beat all well together till creamy, and set over the fire a few 

minutes to scald through once, or set it in the tea kettle top to heat 

through. 

Puff Paste. 

Use for each pound of butter one pound of flour. First the 
butter should be worked or kneaded with the hand until all the 
buttermilk or water which may be in it is squeezed out. Wet the 
hand and the molding board with cold water. The butter must 
not be put in with the cracks in it, which you will see on breaking 
it, for these make the pastry full of 5akes. By working with the 
hand a smooth even paste can be made without melting the butter. 
After working, wraj) in a towel dusted with flour and put in a cool 
place. Mix one pound of flour, the yolk of one egg, one teaspoon- 
ful of butter, the juice of a lemon, and a saltspoonful of salt, with 



128 DESSERTS. 

cold water enough to make a paste as soft as bread dough. The 
lemon juice is for making the dough tender, and the egg is used 
simply to give a yellowish appearance to the crust. This is the 
French method of preparing paste. The pastry is worked to mix 
the gluten with the water to make, first, a slightly tough dough to 
hold the butter; the lemon juice afterward makes it tender. It 
should be kneaded about five minutes. You can always tell when it 
is kneaded enough, because it will then pull away from the hand 
and not stick. Roll it out about the size of a large dinner plate, 
lay in it the butter, fold the sides over, turn it over and roll into a 
strip three times as long as it is wide, square at the corners, and 
one-quarter of an inch thick. Fold one-third over the middle and 
the other third over that, making three layers; roll again into a 
strip three times as long as it is wide. Fold a second time and roll 
out again in the same way. Fold again and wrap in a cloth, place 
it in a pan and set where it will get very cold. This is called 
giving the pastry " one turn," When it is made by fine confec- 
tioners it usually has six " turns." 

Pie Crust. 

Into one quart sifted flour, thoroughly mix two heaping tea- 
spoonfuls baking powder, and sift again. Weigh out three-quar- 
ters of a pound good butter. Take half of it and chop into the 
flour until it is very fine. Then add enough cold water (ice water 
is the best) to make a stiff dough. Roll out into a thin sheet and 
baste with one-third the remaining butter, then roll it up closely 
into a long roll, flatten and re-roll, then baste again. Repeat this 
operation until the butter is gone. Then make out your erust. Do 
it all as quickly as possible. The quantity of butter may be 
increased or decreased to suit the taste, following the other direc- 
tions as stated. 

Good and Cheap Pie Crust. 

One quart sifted flour, one teaspoonful salt, two heaping tea- 
spoonfuls baking powder; mix thoroughly together while dry, and 



DESSERTS. 129 

sift. Then add cold sweet milk enough to make a stiff dough, and 
roll out as usual. Use the " Pie Crust Glaze " on both the bottom 
and top crusts, as per following recipe. Some prefer less of the 
baking powder in the pie crust. A trial will determine what quan- 
tity best suits your taste. 

Pie Crust Glaze. 

To prevent the juice soaking through into the crust and making 
it soggy, wet the crust with a beaten egg just before you put in the 
pie mixture. If the top of the pie is wet with the egg it gives it a 
beautiful brown. 

Pie Crust for Four Small Pies. 

One and a half cups lard, one cup cold water, three and a half 
cups flour, mix lard and flour together; add water last. 

Tart Crust. 

One cup of lard, one-half teaspoonful of salt, the white of an egg, 
one-quarter teaspoonful of cream of tartar, one tablesjjoonful of 
sugar, one-eighth teaspoonful of saleratus, three tablespoonfuls of 
ice water; flour to roll; mix lard with one cup of flour; add salt, 
sugar, and cream of tartar; beat egg; mix with water and saleratus, 
all together; keep the dough cold; add flour to roll, one-quarter of 
an inch thick. The above makes eighteen tarts. 

Icing Pastry. 

When nearly baked enough, take the pastry out of the oven and 
sift fine powdered sugar over it. Replace it in the oven, and hold 
over it a hot salamander or shovel till the sugar is melted. The 
above method is preferred for pastry to be eaten hot; for cold, 
beat up the whites of two eggs well, wash over the tops of the pies 
with a brush, and sift over this a good coating of sugar; cause it 
to adhere to the egg and pie crust; trundle over it a clean brush 
(lipped in water, till the sugar is all moistened. Bake again fo? 
about ten minutes. 



130 DESSERTS. 

Puff Pasje with Beef Suet. 
Wlien you cannot obtain good butter for making paste, the fol* 
lowing is an excellent substitute: Skin and chop one pound of 
kidney beef suet very fine, put it into a mortar and pound it well, 
moistenino- with a little oil, till it become as it were one piece, 
about the consistency of butter. 

Apricot Pie. 
Pare, stone, and half the apricots; place them in a pie dish, piling 
them high in the center, strew over them a little sifted sugar, and 
a few of the kernels, blanched and chopped fine. Cover them with 
a good, light crust and bake in a moderate oven. 

Apple Pie. 
Fill the pie crust with sour, juicy apples, pared and sliced thin, 
put on the upper crust and bake until the aj^ples are soft, then 
remove the upper crust, adding sugar to taste, a small piece of 
butter, and a little grated nutmeg; stir this well through the apple 
and replace the crust. 

Apple Custard Pie. 

Peel sour apples and stew until soft and not much water left in 
them, then rub them through a colander, beat three eggs for each 
pie to be baked, and put in at the rate of one cup of butter and one 
of sugar for three pies. Line the pie tins with paste, put in the 
apples first, spread the beaten eggs, butter and sugar, flavored with 
nutmeg over it. Bake as pumpkin pie. 

Boiled Cider Pie. 

A boiled cider pie may be a novelty to some one. Take four 
tablespoonfuls of boiled cider, three tablespoonfuls each of sugar 
and water, two tablespoonfuls of flour, and one egg; beat all 
together. Bake in a deep plate and with upper and under crusts. 

Banana Pie, 

Slice raw bananas, add butter, sugar, allspice, and vinegar^^ '=>r 
boiled cider or diluted jelly. Bake with two crusts. 



DESSERTS. 131 

Cracker Pie. 

Soak ten crackers in one and one-half cujis of boiling water, add 
one cup of molasses, one cup sugar, one cup butter, one cup raisins, 
two-thirds cup of vinegar, one-half nutmeg, one-half teaspoonful 
ground cloves, one teaspoonful cinnamon. Bake with two crusts. 

Chocolate Pie. 
One coffeecup milk, two tablespoonfuls grated chocolate, three- 
fourths cup sugar, yolks of three eggs. Heat chocolate and milk 
together; add the sugar and yolks together, beaten to cream. 
Flavor with vanilla. Bake with under crust. Spread meringue of 
the whites over the toj:*. 

CocoANUT Pie. 

Open the eyes of a cocoanut with a pointed knife or gimlet, and 
pour out the milk into a cuj); then break the shell and take out the 
meat and grate it fine. Take the same weight of sugar and the 
grated nut and stir together; beat four eggs, the whites and yolks 
separately, to a stiff foam; mix one cup of cream and the milk of 
the cocoanut with the sugar and nut, then add the eggs and a few 
drops of orange or lemon extract. Line deep pie-tins with a nice 
crust, fill them with the custard, and bake carefully one-half an 
hour. 

Jelly Custard. 

To one cup of any sort of jelly, add one egg and beat well 
together with three teaspoonfuls cream or milk. After mixing 
thoroughly, bake in a good crust. 

Custard Pie. 
Line a deep plate with pie crust and fill with a custard made of 
one pint of milk, three eggs, three tablespoonfuls of white sugar 
and a pinch of salt; flavor with nutmeg; bake until firm in the 
center; this you can tell by inserting the handle of a teaspoon; do 
not let the oven got hot enough to boil it. 



132 DESSERTS. 

Cream Pie. 
Pout j» pint of cream upon a cup and a half of powdered sugar; 
let it s''-.and till the whites of three eggs have been beaten to a stiff 
froth; add this to the cream, and beat up thoroughly, grate a little 
nutmeg over the mixture and bake as custard pies. 

Cream Pie, No. 2. 
Three eggs, one cup sugar, one and one-fourth cups flour, juice 
and grated rind of lemon, half teaspoonful soda dissolved, and one 
tablespoonful cold water, stirred in the last thing. Bake in round 
sheets. 

Custard for Cream Pie. 

A little mpre than half pint milk, half cup flour, one cup sugar, 
two eggs. Boil, when cold, spread on the cakes and lay them 
together. This receipt makes two pies. 

Delicate Pie. 

To stewed apples sufiicient for four pies, one-half pound of 

butter, six eggs, beaten separately, one pound of sugar; flavor with 

lemon, the apples being quite cold before adding the eggs. Bake 

as a tart pie. 

Lemon Pie. 

One cup of hot water, one tablespoonful of corn starch, one cup of 
white sugar, one tablespoonful of butter, the juice and grated rind 
of one lemon. Cook for a few minutes, add one egg, and bake 
with a top and bottom crust. 

Fruit Pie. 
Line a soup plate with a rich jjaste, and spread with a layer of 
strawberry or raspberry preserves; over which sprinkle two table- 
spoonfuls of finely-chopped almonds (blanched of course), and one- 
half ounce of candied lemon peel cut into shreds. Then mix the 
following ingredients: One-half pound white sugar, one-quarter 
pound butter, melted, four yolks and two whites of eggs, and a few 
drops of almond essence. Beat well together and pour the mixture 



DESSERTS. 133 

into the soup plate over the preserves, etc. Bake in a moderately 
warm oven. When cold, sprinkle or sift a little powdered sugar 
over the top. A little cream eaten with it is a great addition. 

Lemon Pie, No. 2. 

The juice and grated rind of one lemon, one cup of white sugar, 
the yolks of two eggs, three tablespoonfuls of sifted flour, and suf- 
ficient milk to fill a plate. Make with undercrust, but not the 
uppercrust. Bake till nearly done and then add a frosting made of 
the beaten whites of two eggs, and two tablespoonfuls of powdered 
sugar, and set back in the oven and brown slightly. 

Mince Meat. 

One pint of chopped meat, two pints of chopped apples, one pint 
«ach of molasses and vinegar, two pints of sugar, one tablespoonful 
each of cinnamon, cloves, and allspice, a cup of chopped suet or 
butter, a little salt, and a little brandy if liked. Add raisins when 
the pies are baked. 

Mince Meat. 

Two pounds of lean beef boiled; when cold chop fine; one pound 
of suet minced to a powder, five pounds of juicy apples, 2:>ared and 
•chopped, two pounds of raisins, seeded, two pounds of sultanas or 
seedless raisins, two pounds of currants, one-half pound of citron, 
chopped, three tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls of 
mace, one tablespoonful of allspice, one tablespoonful of fine salt, 
one grated nutmeg, three pounds of brown sugar, one-half gallon 
of sweet cider. Mince meat made by this recipe will keep tilJ 
-spring. 

Mince Pie. 

It is supposed you have your meat ready for the paste. Make 
the paste by rubbing into a quart of your best flour one-thfrd 
of a pound of ^weet lard; chop it in with a bi-oad knife, if you have 
time; wet up with ice water; roll out very thin and cover with 
dabs of butter, also of the best; fold into a tight roll; flatten with 
a few strokes of the rolling-pin, and roll out into a sheet as thin a? 



134 DESSERTS. 

tlie first; Dasce again with the butter; roll up and out into a third 
sheet hardly thicker than drawing paper; a third time dot with 
butter and fold up closely. Having used as much butter for this 
purpose as you have lard, set aside your roll for an hour on ice, or 
in a very cold place; then roll out, line your jjie plates with the 
paste, fill with mince meat, put strips across them in squares or 
triangles and bake in a steady and not dull heat. 

Mince Pie, No. 2. 
Boil a piece of beef weighing six pounds, and a beef's tongue 
weighing six pounds, six hours. Then skin the tongue, chop it and 
the beef fine; add five pounds beef suet chopped fine, five pounds 
raisins stoned, three pounds dried currants, one and one-half pound 
citron, four pounds brown sugar, one pint good molasses, one quart 
brandy, one quart wine, or, omit these, and add in their place 
boiled cider; half a cup each of salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves, 
three nutmegs and a tablespoonful of mace. Mix all well together, 
and let it stand over night. Mix apples stewed when you make 
the pies, as the meat keeps better without apple. Keep it in a 
stone jar. You should have about a third as much apple as you 
have of the mince meat for a batch of pies. 

Mince Meat Without Meat. 
Take nine lemons, squeeze out the juice, boil the rinds and pulp 
(remove seed) in three or four waters till bitterness is out and 
rinds quite tender; beat them to a pulp; two and one-half pounds 
beef suet after it is picked from the skins, two pounds currants 
after they are picked and washed, one and one-half pounds raisins 
after they are stoned, two ounces almonds, two pounds sugar, one- 
half pound citron, a glass of brandy, and one of any kind of sweet 
wine; mix all these ingredients well together with the juice from 
the lemons, and as many sweetmeats as you please. ■« 

Marlborough Pie. 
Grate six apples, one cup sugar, three tablespoonfuls melted 



DESSERTS. 135 

butter, four eggs, juice and grated rind of a lemon, two tablespoon- 
fuls brandy or wine, if you choose; if not, omit it. Bake in an 
under, but without top crust. 

Oeaj^ge Pie. 

Take four good-sized oranges, peel, seed, and cut in very small 
pieces. Add a cup of sugar, and let stand. Into a quart of nearly 
boiling milk stir two tablespoonfuls of corn starch mixed with a 
little water, and the yolks of three eggs. When this is done, 
let it cool, then mix with the oranges. Put it in simply a lower 
crust. Make a frosting of the whites of the eggs and one-half cup 
suo-ar. Spread it over top of pies, and place for a few seconds in 
the oven to brown. 

Cream Peach Pie. 

Pare ripe peaches and remove the stones; have your pie dishes 
ready lined with a good paste, fill with the peaches; stew these 
with sugar; lay the upper crust on lightly, slightly buttering the 
lower at the point of contact. When the pie is done, lift the cover 
and pour in a cream made thus: One cup (small) of rich milk, 
heated; whites of two eggs, whipped and stirred into the milk; 
one tablespoonful of sugar; one-half teaspoonful of corn starch wet 
up in milk. Boil three minutes. The cream must be cold M^hen it 
goes into the hot pie. Replace the crust, and set by to cool. Eat 
fresh. 

Pine-Apple Pie. 

One granted pine-apple, its weight in sugar, half its weight in 
butter, five eggs, the whites beaten to a stiff froth, one cup of 
cream; cream the butter and beat it with the sugar and yolks until 
very light; add the cream, the pine-apple and the whites of the 
eggs. Bake with an under crust. To be eaten cold. 

Pumpkin Pie. 
Pare the pumpkin and take out the seeds without scraping the 
inside; stew and strain through a sieve. To every quart of milk 
add five eggs, and stir the pumpkin into the milk and eggs until 



136 DESSERTS. 

the proper consistency; sweeten with sugar or the best sjTup; 
molasses makes it too strong. Add some salt, powdered cinnamon, 
powdered ginger and the grated peel of lemon. Bake in either deep 
or shallow dishes in a hot oven. 

Potato Pie. 
One pound mashed potato, rubbed through a colander; one-fourth 
pound of butter, creamed with the sugar; six eggs, whites and 
yolks beaten separately; one lemon, squeezed into the potato while 
hot; one teaspoonful of nutmeg and the same of mace; two cups 
of white sugar. Cream the butter and sugar; add the yolks, the 
spice, and beat in the potato gradually until it is very light. At 
last, whip in the whites. Bake in open shells of paste. Eat cold. 

Sweet Potato Pie. 

A plate deeper than the common pie plate is necessary. Bake 
medium-sized potatoes, not quite done. Yams are best. Line the 
plate with good paste; slice the potatoes; place a layer upon the 
bottom of the plate; over this sprinkle thickly a layer of good 
brown sugar; over this place thin slices of butter and sprinkle with 
flour, seasoning with spices to the taste. A heaped tablespoonf ul 
of butter and a heaped teaspoonful of flour will be sufficient for one 
pie. Put on another layer of potatoes, piled a little in the middle. 
Mix together equal quantities lemon juice and water, or vinegar 
and water and pour in enough to half fill the pie ; sprinkle over the 
potato a little flour and place on the upper crust, pinching the 
edges carefully together. Cut a slit in the center and bake slowly 
an hour. 

Sweet Potato Pie, No. 2. 

Boil potatoes until tender, pare and put through a colander or 
sieve. To one pint of potato add one pint of milk, three eggs, and 
from one to two cups sugar, to suit taste; flavor with ginger or 
lemon. 



DESSERTS. 137 

Apple or Peach Meringue Pie. 

Stew the api^les or peaches and sweeten to taste. Mash smooth 
and season with nutmeg. Fill the crusts and bake until just done. 
Put on no top crusts. Take the whites of three eggs for each pie 
and whijD to a stiff froth, and sweeten with three tablespoonfuls 
powdered sugar. Flavor with rose water or vanilla. Beat until it 
will stand alone, then spread it on the pie one-half to one inch 
thick, and set back into the oven until the meringue is well " set." 
Eat cold. 

Peach Pie. 

Peel, stone and slice the peaches; line a pie plate with crust and 
lay in your fruit, sprinkling sugar liberally over them in proportion 
to their sweetness. Allow three peach kernels chopped fine to each 
pie; pour in a very little water and bake with an upj^er crust, or 
with cross-bars of paste across the top. 

Quince Pie. 
Pare, slice, and stew six quinces till soft; press them through a 
sieve; add to them one pint milk and four well-beaten eggs. 
Sweeten to taste, and bake in a bottom crust three-fourths of an 
hour in a moderate oven. 

Cream Raspberry Pie. 
Line a pie-dish with puff paste, and fill with raspberries, sweet- 
ened bountifully. Cover with a paste crust, but do not pinch this 
down at the edges. Also rub the edge of the lower crust with 
butter to prevent adhesion. Bake in a good oven. While it is 
cooking, heat a small cup of rich milk, putting in a pinch of soda; 
stir into it half a teaspoonful of corn starch, wet in cold milk, one 
tablespoonful of white sugar, and cook three minutes. Take it off, 
and beat in the frothed whites of two eggs. Whip to a cream, and 
let it get cold. When the pie comes out of the oven, lift the top 
crust and pour in the mixture; replace the crust and set aside to 
cool; sift sugar upon the top before serving. 



138 DESSERTS. 

Ratstn Pie. 

One lemon — juice and yellow rind, one cup of raisins, one cup of 
water, one cup of rolled crackers; stone the raisins, and boil in 
water t© soften them. 

Rhubarb Pie. 

One and one-half bunches rhubard, one and one-quarter cups 
efugar. Cut the fruit in small pieces after stripping off the skin, 
and cook it very fast in a shallow stewj^an, with sugar. Line a pie 
plate with the paste; wet the rim; add the rhubarb, cold; lay 
three bars of paste across, fastening the ends; lay three more 
across^, forming diamond-shaped spaces; lay round a rim, wash 
over with egg, and bake in a quick oven fifteen minutes. 

Rice Pie. 
For \;wo pies, take two tablespoonf uls of rice ; wash and put it 
into a farina boiler with a quart of milk; cook until perfectly soft. 
Let it cool; add three eggs, well beaten, with three tablespoonf uls 
of sugar and one of butter, a little salt, cinnamon and a few stoned 
raisins. Bake with undercrust. 

Squash Pie. 

Pare the squash and remove the seeds; stew until soft and dry; 
then pulp it through a colander; stir into the pulp* enough sweet 
milk to make it thick as batter; spice with ginger, cinnamon, nut- 
meg, or other seasoning to taste; sweeten with sugar and add four 
beaten eggs for each quart of milk. Fill a pie plate lined with 
crust and bake one hour. 

Vinegar Pies. 

One and one-half cups good vinegar, one cup of water, lump of 
butter size of an egg, sugar enough to sweeten to the taste; flavor 
with lemon; put in stewpan on stove; take five eggs, beat the yolks 
with one cup of water and two heaping teaspoonfuls of flour; 
when the vinegar comes to a boil, put in the eggs and flour, stirring 
till well cooked; have ready crust for four pies, put in the filling 



DESSERTS. Ib9 

and bake. Beat the whites with two teaspoonf uls of white sugar 
to a froth, spread on the pies when done, and color in the oven. 
These are excellent. 

Tarts. 
Use the best of puff paste; roll it out a little thicker than the pie 
crust, and cut with a large biscuit-cutter twice as many as you 
intend to have of tarts; then cut out of half of them a small round, 
in the center, which will leave a circular rim of crust; lift this up 
carefully, and la^ on the large pieces. Bake in pans, and fill with 
any kind of preserves, jam, or jelly. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

DRINKS. 

Coffee. , 

INCE Pasquet Rossee oj^ened the first coffee-house in Europe 
in Newman's Court, Cornhill, London, in 1652, its popularity 
has constantly increased until to-day those who use it embrace 
the whole world, and its annual consumption is measured by 
millions of pounds. But as common as is its use, it has not been 
a common occurrence in our experience to have set before us a 
really good cup of coffee. This fact convinces us that there is 
still much need of information on this subject. 

The following, by H. K. & F. B. Thurber & Co., is so appropriate 
that we quote it in full : 

"Nothing is more generally desired or appreciated, nothing 
harder to find than a uniformly good cup of coffee. Its production 
is usually considered an easy matter, but it involves the observance 
of a considerable number of conditions by a considerable number of 
persons, and a volume might be written about these and still leave 
much to be said. We will, however, briefly state the most import- 
ant requisites. 

" The wholesale dealer must exercise care and judgment in his 
selections, as there is almost as much difference in the flavor of 
coffee as there is of tea; this is especially true of Mocha, Java, 
Maracaibo, and other fancy coffees, of which frequently the bright- 
est and handsomest looking lots are greatly lacking in the flavor 
and aroma which constitute the chief value of coffee, and which 
can be ascertained only by testing carefully each invoice purchased. 
It should be roasted by a professional roaster, as this is a very 

140 




A'GooD Cup of Coffee. 



DRINKS. 141 

important part of the programme, and requires skill, experience and 
constant practice. Expert roasters are usually experienced men and 
command high salaries. A bad coffee roaster is dear at any jjrice, 
as the coffee may be ruined or its value greatly injui-ed by an error 
in judgment or an instant's inattention. Owing to these circum- 
stances, in addition to the fact that in order to do good work it is 
necessary to roast a considerable quantity at a time, none of the 
small hand machines produce uniformly good results, and they are 
only to be tolerated where distance makes it impossible for the 
retail merchants to obtain regular and (when not in air-tight pack- 
ages) frequent supplies of the roasted article. How much it should 
be roasted is also an important part of the question. For making 
" black " or " French " coffee it should be roasted higher than usual 
(the French, also, often add a little chicory), and some sections are 
accustomed to a higher roast than others, but as a whole the cus- 
tomary New York standard will best suit the average American 
palate. Retail dealers should buy their roasted coffee of a reliable 
house that has a reputation to sustain, and that cannot be induced 
to cut down prices below what they can afford to furnish an article 
that will do them credit. Do not buy much at a time (unless in 
air-tight packages), a week or ten day's supply is enough, and if 
you are situated so you can buy it twice a Aveek, so much the 
better. Keep it in a dry place and, if possible, in a tin can which 
shuts tightly, never in a pine box or bin, for the smell of the wood 
is quickly absorbed by the coffee. Get your customers in the habit 
of buying it in the berry, or, if they have no mill at home and want 
you to grind it for them (every grocer should have a mill), grind it 
pretty fine, so that when used the strength is readily extracted, but 
do not sell them much at a time, as it is a necessity to have it 
freshly ground. 

" Consumers should adopt the above suggestions to retail dealers 
— buy of a reliable dealer who will not represent an inferior article 
as 'Java;' buy in small quantities and buy often; keep it dry in a 
tightly closed tin can or in a glass or earthen jar. Have a small 



142 DRINKS. 

hand coffee mill and grind only when ready to use it, and if, during 
rainy weather, the kernels become damp and tough warm them up 
in a clean pot or skillet but do not scorch them; this drives off the 
moisture, restores the flavor and makes it grind better. The 
grinding is an imj^ortant feature; if ground too coarse you lose 
much of the strength and aroma of the coffee; if too fine it is hard 
to make it clear, but of the two. the latter is the least objectionable; 
both the strength and the flavor of the coffee, however, is a neces- 
sity, and if a little of the finely powdered coffee flows out with the 
liquid extract it is clean and will hurt nobody. It is better, how- 
ever, to grind it just right, which is that the largest pieces will be 
no larger than pin heads." 

We now come to the important part of making coffee. For this 
there are many receipts and formulas, including a large number of 
new and so-called improved coffee-pots, but we have never seen any 
of the new methods which, in the long run, gave as satisfactory 
results as the following old-fashioned receipt: 

Grind moderately fine a large cup of coffee; break into it one 
egg with shell; mix well, adding just enough cold water to thor- 
oughly wet the grounds; upon this pour one pint boiling water; 
let it boil slowly for ten to fifteen minutes, and then stand three 
minutes to settle; pour through a fine wire sieve into coffee-pot, 
which should be first rinsed with hot water; this will make enough 
for four persons. Coffee should be served as soon as made. At 
table, first rinse the cup with hot water, put in the sugar, then fill 
half full of hot milk, add your coffee, and you have a delicious 
beverage that will be a revelation to many poor mortals who have 
an indistinct remembrance of and an intense longing for an ideal 
cup of coffee. If you have cream so much the better; and in that 
case boiling water can be added either in the pot or cup to make up 
for the space occupied by milk, as above; or condensed milk will 
be found a good substitute for cream. 

General Remarks. — We have thus briefly indicated the points 
necessary to be observed in obtaining uniformly good coffee. 



DRINKS. , 143 

whether made from Rio, or Java, and other mild flavored coffees,. 
In the Eastern and Middle States, Mocha, Java, Maracaibo, Ceylon, 
etc., are most highly esteemed and generally used; but at the west 
and south more Rio coffee is consumed. The coffee par excellence, 
however, is a mixture of Mocha and Java together, and thus 
thoroughly blended. Mocha alone is too rough and acrid, but, 
blended as above, it is certainly delicious. In all varieties, how- 
ever, there is a considerable range as to quality and flavor, and, as 
before stated, the best guide for the consumer is to buy of a reli- 
able dealer and throw upon his shoulders the responsibility of fur- 
nishing a satisfactory article. 

Hotels and restaurants that desire good coffee, should make in 
small quantities and more frequently. It is impossible for coffee to 
be good when it is kept simmering for hours after it is made. 

Coffee Substitutes. 

French cooks, who are celebrated for making good coffee, mix 
three or four different kinds, and recommend as a good proportion, 
to add to one pound of Java about four ounces of Mocha and four 
ounces of one or two other kinds. It is said that from three parts 
of Rio, with two parts of Old Government Java, a coffee can be 
made quite as good, if not superior, to that made of Java alone. 

Wheat coffee, made of a mixture of eight quarts of wheat to one 
pound of real coffee, is said to afford a beverage quite as agreeable 
as the unadulterated Rio, besides being much more wholesome. It 
is probably known to many that a very large per cent, of the 
ground coffee sold at the stores is common field pease, roasted and 
ground with genuine coffee. There are hundreds of thousands of 
bushels of peas annually used for that purpose. Those who are in 
the habit of purchasing ground coffee can do better to buy their 
own pease, burn and grind them, and mix to suit themselves. 

Novel Mode of Making Coffee. 
Put two ounces of ground coffee into a stewpan, which set Upon 
ihe fire, stirring the powder around with a spoon until quite hot. 



144 DRINKS. 

when pour over a pint of boiling water; cover over closely for 
five minutes, when strain it through a cloth, rinse out the stewpan^ 
pour the coffee, which will be quite clear, back into it, place it on 
the fire, and when near boiling, serve with hot milk. 

Tea. 

We find the following eminently sensible lines in Household 
Hints : 

One of the most surprising things one constantly meets is to find 
that the people who have the same duties to perform, day after 
day, or year after year, do not improve in their method or even 
once blunder into the right way of doing them. Nothing is more 
easily made than good tea, and yet how seldom, away from home, 
does one enjoy delicately fragrant tea which Hawthorne calls "an 
angel's gift " and which Miss Mitf ord said she could be awake all 
night drinking. The first thing needed is a clean tea-pot; it is 
useless to try to make good tea in a rusty j^ot, or one in which the 
leaves have been allowed to remain all night. The water should 
be boiling but the tea itself should never boil. I wish these words 
coiild be painted on the wall of every hotel and restaurant kitchen 
in the United States. After the boiling water has been jjoured 
over the tea set the tea-pot on an extra griddle on the back of the 
stove. All that is good in the tea will be gradually extracted from 
it; then when brought to the table one may well echo De Quin- 
cey's wish for an " eternal tea-pot," though not inclined to follow 
his example of drinking it from eight o'clock in the evening until 
four o'clock in the morning. 

The most satisfactory steep)er I ever used is an old-fashioned 
brown eai'thern tea-pot. This may be kept perfectly clean with 
almost no trouble. Whatever may be said of the hurtfulness of 
tea, when immoderately used, a cup of the afternoon tea so fre- 
quently mentioned in novels and essays is an unpurchasable luxury. 
Hamerton says in "The Intellectual Life:" " If tea is a safe stimu- 
lant it is certainly an agreeable one; there seems to be no valid 
reason why brain workers should recuse themselves this solace." 



DRINKS. 145 



Iced Tea. 



The tea should be made in the morning, very strong, and not 
allowed to stee}) long. Keep in the ice-box till the meal is ready 
and then put in a small quantity of cracked ice. Very few under- 
stand the art of making iced tea, 1 pour the scalding hot tea on a 
goblet of ice lumped in, and as the ice melts the tea is weak, insipid, 
and a libel on its name. Iced coffee is very nice made in the same 
way. Too much ice is detrimental to health and often causes 
gastric fever; so beware of it when in a heated state, or do not 
drink of it in large quantities, 

A Good Summer Drink. 
Two pounds CataAvba grapes, three tablespoonfuls loaf sugar, 
one cup of cold water. Squeeze the grapes hard in a coarse cloth, 
when you have picked them from the stems. Wring out every 
drop of juice; add the sugai', and when it is dissolved, the water, 
surround with ice until very cold; put a lump of ice into a pitcher, 
pour out the mixture upon it, and drink at once. You can add 
more sugar if you like, or if the grapes are not quite ripe. 

Cottage Beer. 

Take a peck of good wheat bran and put it into ten gallons of 
water with three liandfuls of good hops, and boil the whole 
together until the bran and hops sink to the bottom. Then strain 
it through a hair sieve or a thin cloth into a cooler, and when it is 
about lukewai-m add two quarts of molasses. As soon as the 
molasses is melted, pour the whole into a ten-gallon cask, with two 
tablespoonfuls of yeast. When the fermentation has subsided, 
bung up the cask, and in four days it will be fit to use. 

Ginger Beer. 
Boil six ounces of bruised ginger in three quarts of water, foi 
half an hour; then add five pounds of loaf sugar, a gill of lemon • 
juice, quarter pound of honey, and seventeen quarts more of water. 



146 DRINKS. 

and strain it througli a clotli. When it is cold put in the whole of 
an egg, and two drachms of essence of lemon. After standing 
three or four days, it may be bottled. 

Spruce Beer. 

Take four ounces of hops, boil half an hour in one gallon of 
water; strain it; add sixteen gallons of warm water, two gallons 
of molasses, eight ounces of essence of spruce dissolved in one quart 
of water; put it in a clean cask, shake it well together, add half 
pint of yeast, let it stand and work one week; if warm weather, 
less time will do. When drawn off, add one teaspoonful of molasses 
to each bottle. 

Iced Buttermilk. 

There is no healthier drink than buttermilk, but it must be the 
creamy, rich buttermilk to be good. It should stand on the ice to 
cool, though if very rich and thick a little ice in it is an improve- 
ment. 

Claret Cup. 

Put into a bowl three bottles of soda water, and one bottle of 
claret. Pare a lemon very thin and grate a nutmeg; add to these, 
in a jug, one pound of loaf sugar, and pour over them one pint of 
boiling water; when cold, strain and mix with the wine and soda 
water; a little lemon juice may be added. 

Fruit Cup. 
Pare the yellow rind very thinly from twelve lemons; squeeze 
the juice over it in an earthern bowl, and let it stand over night if 
possible. Pare and slice thinly a very ripe pine-apple, and let it lay 
over night in half a pound of powdered sugar. Crush one quart of 
berries, and let them lay over night in half a pound of powdered 
sugar. If all these ingredient cannot be prepared the day before 
they are used, they must be done very early in the morning, 
'because the juices of the fruit need to be incorporated with the 
sugar at least twelve hours before the beverage is used. After all 



DRINKS. 147 

the ingredients have been properly prepared, as above, strain off 
the juice, carefully pressing all of it out of the fruit; mix it with 
two pounds of powdered sugar and three quarts of ice water, and 
stir it until all the sugar is dissolved. Then strain it again through 
a muslin or bolting-cloth sieve, and put it on the ice or in a very 
cool place until it is wanted for use. 

Cream of Tartar Drink. 
Two teaspoonf uls of cream of tartar, the grated rind of a lemon, 
half a cup of loaf sugar, and one pint of boiling water. This is a 
good summer drink for invalids, and is cleansing to the blood. 

Jelly DEiTiTKS. 
A little jelly or fruit syrup dissolved in a goblet of water with a 
little sugar is a refreshing drink. Lime juice squeezed into lemon- 
ade gives it a tart but pleasing flavor. A little orange juice is also 
an improvement in nearly all summer drinks. 

Simon Pure Lemonade. 
Take thin-skinned lemons; roll them on the table until very soft; 
slice very thin with a sharp knife into a large pitcher, averaging 
one lemon to a person, thus allowing them two glasses apiece. Put 
in the pitcher with the sliced lemon a cup of white sugar to five 
lemons (or more if you want it sweeter) and pound all well together 
with a potato masher; put in a lump of ice; let it stand a few 
minutes and fill the pitcher with ice water. This makes lemonade 
that is lemonade, and the peel in the pitcher is delicious. 

Jelly Lemonade. 
Pare the yellow rind thinly from two oranges and six lemons 
and steep it four hours in a quart of hot water. Boil a pound and 
a half of loaf sugar in three pints of water, skimming it until it is 
clear. Pour these two mixtures together. Add to them the juice 
of six oranges and twelve lemons, mix and strain through a jelly- 
bag nntil clear; keep cool until wanted for use. If the beverage is 



148 DRINKS. 

to be kept several days, it should be put into clean glass bottles and 
corked tightly. If lor a small party, half of the quantity will be 
sufficient. 

Ginger Lemonade. 

Take a half cup of vinegar, one cup of sugar, two teaspoonfuls 
ginger; stir w^ell together, put in a quart pitcher and fill with ice 
water. If one wants it sweeter or sourer than these quantities will 
make it, more of the needed ingredients may be put in. It is a 
cooling drink and almost as good as lemonade, some preferring it. 

Berry Sherbet. 
Crush one pound of berries, add them to one quart of water, one 
lemon sliced, and one teaspoonful of orange flavor, if you have it. 
Let these ingredients stand in an earthen bowl for three hours; then 
strain, squeezing all the juice out of the fruit. Dissolve one pound 
of powdered sugar in it, strain again, and put on the ice until ready 
to serve. 

Excellent Mead. 
Three pounds brown sugar, one pint of molasses, one-fourth 
pound tartaric acid; mix, pour over them two quarts boiling water, 
stir till dissolved. When cold, add half ounce essence sassafras 
and bottle. When you wish to drink it, put three tablespoonfuls 
of it in a tumbler, fill half full with ice M^ater, add a little more 
than one-fourth teaspoonful soda. An excellent summer beverage. 



CHAPTER IX. 

EGGS AND OMELETTES. 

GGS of various kinds are largely used as food for man, and it 
is scarcely possible to exaggerate their value in this capacity, 
so simple and convenient are they in their form and so mani- 
fold may be their transformations. They are exceedingly delicious, 
hio-hly nutritious and easy of digestion, and when the shell is 
included they may be said to contain in themselves all that is 
required for the construction of the body. It has been claimed for 
them that they may be served in about six hundred ways, although 
it is generally found that the more simply they are prepared the 
more they are approved. Although other eggs besides birds' eggs 
are eaten it is generally agreed that the eggs of the common fowl 
and of the plover possess the sweetest and richest flavor. The 
eggs of ducks and geese are frequently used in cookery, but they 
are of too coarse a nature to be eaten alone. The eggs of the 
turkey and of the peahen are highly esteemed for some purposes* 
The weight of an ordinary new-laid hen's egg is from one and a 
half to two and a half ounces avoirdupois, and the qiiantity of solid 
matter contained in it amounts to two hundred grains. In one 
hundred parts about ten parts consist of shell, sixty of white and 
thirty of yolk. The white of the egg contains more water than the 
yolk. It contains no fatty matter but consists chiefly of albumen 
in a dissolved state. All the fatty matter of the egg is accumulated 
in the yolk, which contains relatively a smaller proportion of nitro- 
genous matter and a larger proportion of solid matter than the 
ivhite. Therefore, in an alimentary point of view the white and 

149 



150 EGGS AND OMELETTES, 

the yolk differ considerably from each other, the former being, 
mainly a sinqjle solution of albumen, the latter being a solution of 
a modified form of albumen together with a quantity of fat. 

Raw and lightly boiled eggs are easy of digestion. It is said 
that raw eggs are more easily digested than cooked ones; but this 
may be doubted if the egg is not over-cooked. A hard-boiled egg 
presents a decided resistance to gastric solution, and has constipa- 
tory action on the bowels. 

Beeaded Eggs. 
Boil hard and cut in round, thick slices; pepper and salt and dip 
each in beaten raw egg, then in fine bread crumbs or powdered 
cracker crumbs and fry in butter, hissing hot. Drain off everjr 
drop of grease and serve hot. 

Egg a la Mode. 
Remove the skin from a dozen tomatoes, medium size, cut them 
up in a saucepan, add a little butter, pepper and salt; when suffi- 
ciently boiled, beat up five or six eggs, and just before you serve^ 
turn them into the saucepan with the tomato, and stir one way for 
two minutes, allowing them time to be well done. 

How TO Bake Eggs. 
Butter a clean, smooth saucepan, break as many eggs as will be 
needed into a saucer, one by one. If found good, slip it into the 
dish. No broken yolk allowed, nor must they crowd so as to risk 
breaking the yolk after being put in. Put a small piece of butter on 
eacli, and sprinkle with pepper and salt. Set into a well-heated 
oven, and bake till the whites are set. If the oven is rightly heated^ 
it will take but a few minutes, and is far more delicate than fried 
eggs. 

Egg Baskets. 

Boil quite hard as many eggs as will be needed. Put into cold 
water till cold, then cut neatly into halves with a thin, sharp knife;, 
remove the yolk and rub to a paste with some melted butter„ 



EGGS AND OMELETTES. 151 

adding pepper and salt. Cover up this paste and set aside till the 
filling is ready. Take cold roast duck, chicken, or turkey Avhich 
may be on hand, chop fine i-nd pound smooth, and while pounding 
mix in the paste prepared from the yolks. As you pound moisten 
with melted butter and some gravy which may have been left over 
from the fowls; set this paste when done over hot water till well 
heated. Cut off a small slice from the end of the empty halves of 
the Avhites so they will stand firm, then fill them with this paste; 
place them close together on a flat, round dish, and pour over the 
rest of the gravy, if any remains, or make a little fresh. A few 
spoonfuls of cream or rich milk improves this dressing. 

To Pickle Eggs. 

Sixteen eggs, one quart of vinegar, one-half ounce of black 
pepper, one-half ounce Jamaica pepper, one-half ounce of ginger; 
boil the eggs twelve minutes; dip in cold water and take off the 
shell; put the vinegar with the pepper and ginger into a stew pan 
and simmer ten minutes; place the eggs in a jar, pour over the 
seasoned vinegar boiling hot, and when cold tie them down with a 
bladder to exclude the air; ready for use in a month. 

Scrambled Eggs. 
Heat the spider and put in a little butter; have the eggs broken 
into a dish, salt and pepper them; add a small piece of butter; 
beat up just enough to break the eggs, then pour into the buttered 
spider; scrape them up from the bottom with a thin knife to 
prevent their cooking fast. Do not cook too dry. 

To Poach Eggs. 
Have the water well salted, and do not let it boil hard. Break the 
eggs separately into a saucer, and slip gently into the water; when 
nicely done, remove with a skimmer, trim neatly, and lay each egg 
upon a small thin square of buttered toast, then sprinkle with salt 
and pepper. Some persons prefer them poached, rather than fried, 
with ham; in Avhich case substitute the ham for toast. 



152 EGGS AND OMELETTES. 

Stuffed Eggs. 

Boil tlie eggs hard, remove the shells, and then cut in two either 
way, as preferred. Remove the yolks, and mix witli theiii pepper, 
salt, and a little dry raiist::i*d — some like cold chicken, ham, or 
tongue chopped very fine — and then stuff the cavities, smooth them, 
and put the halves together again. For picnics they can simply be 
wrapped in tissue paper to keep them together. If for home use, 
they can be egged, and bread-crumbed, and browned in boiling 
lard; drain ^nd garnish with parsley. 

Omelette. 

First have fresh eggs, not omelette eggs (in restaurants all eggs 
that will not in any way do to boil, are put aside for omelettes), 
break the eggs in a bowl and to every egg add a tablespoonful of 
milk and whip the whole as thoroughly as you would for sj^onge 
cake. The omelette pan must be so hot that butter will melt almost 
brown in it but not quite. Then run the whipped egg and milk 
into the pan and put it directly over the fire. Take a thin-bladed. 
knife and run it carefully under the bottom of the omelette so as to 
let that which is cooked get above. If the fire is right the whole 
mass will swell and puff and cook in just about one minute. Watch 
carefully that it does not burn. It is not necessary to wait till the 
whole mass is solid as its own heat will cook it after it has left the 
pan, but begin at one side and carefully roll the edge over and over 
till it is all rolled up, then let it stand a moment to brown. Turn 
aut on a hot plate and serve immediately. 

Omelette, No. 2. 

Six eggs, one tablespoonful of flour, one cup of milk, a pinch of 
salt; beat the whites and yolks separately; mix the flour, milk and 
salt, add the yolks, then add beaten whites. Have a buttered 
spider very hot; put in. Bake in a quick oven five minutes. 



EGGS AND OMELETTES. 153 

Apple Omelette. 

Eight large apples, four eggs, one cup of sugar, one tablespoon- 
ful of butter, nutmeg or cinnamon to taste. Stew the apples and 
mash fine; add butter and sugar; when cold, add the eggs, well 
beaten. Bake until brown, and eat while warm. 

Baked Omelette. 

Set one-half pint of milk on the fire and stir in one-half cup of 
flour mixed with a little cold milk and salt; when scalding hot, beat 
the yolks of six eggs and add them; stir in whites and set imme- 
diately in the oven. Bake twenty minutes and serve as soon as 
done. 

Oyster Omelette. 

Allow for every six large oysters or twelve small ones, one egg; 
remove the hard part and mince the rest very fine; take the yolks 
of eight eggs and whites of four, beat till very light; then mix in 
the oysters, season and beat all up thoroughly; put into a skillet a 
gill of butter, let it melt; when the butter boils, skim it and turn 
in the omelette; stir until it stiffens, fry light brown; when the 
under side is brown, turn on to a hot platter. If wanted the upper 
side brown, hold a red-hot shovel over it. 

Omelette Souffle, 

Stir five tablespoonfuls of sifted flour into three pints of milk, 
strain through a sieve; add the yolks of eight eggs, beaten very 
light, and, just as it goes into the oven, the whites beaten stiff. 
Bake quickly. 

French Omelette. 

One quart of milk, one pint of bread crumbs, five eggs, one table- 
spoonful of flour, one onion chopped fine, chopped parsley, season 
with pepper and salt. Have butter melted in a spider; when the 
omelette is broAvn, turn it over. Doi'l^le when served. 



1,04 



EGGS AND OMELETTES. 



Omelette with Ham. 
Make a plain omelette, and just before turning one-half over the 
other, sprinkle over it some finely chopped ham. Garn.sh with 
small slices of ham. Jelly or marmalade may be added in the same 
manner. 

Eggs a la Bonne Femme. 
Take six large eggs, boil them ten minutes; when cool, remove the 
shells carefully; divide them equally in halves, take out the yolks, and 

cut off from each the pointed 
tip of the white, that they 
may stand flatly. Make tiny 
^^ dice of some cold chicken, 
ham, boiled beet root, and 
the eggs. Fill the hollows 
with these up to the brim, 
and pile the dice high in the center — two of ham and chicken, two 
of boiled beetroot, and two with the hard yolks. Arrange some 
neatly cut lettuce on a dish and place the eggs amongst it. 




CHAPTER X. 

FRESH FRUITS. 

Pine Apples. 
j,LICE on a slaw cutter, or very thin with a knife; mix with 
finely-powdered sugar. Set on ice till ready to serve. 

A Nice Way to Prepare Apples. 
Pare a dozen tart apples, take out the core, place sugar, with a 
small lump of butter, in the center of each apple, put them in a pan 
with half a pint of water, bake until tender, basting occasionally 
with the syrup while baking; when done, serve with cream. 

To Stew Apples. 
One pound sugar boiled in one quart of spring water and 
skimmed, one pound of the largest pippins, cut in quarters and the 
cores taken out. Have the syrup boiling; when you put them in 
let them stew till they are quite tender, then add the juice of two 
large lemons, and the peel cut small; give them a few more boils 
after the lemons are put in. If you want them to keep all the year, 
the syrup must be well boiled after the apples are taken out. A? 
you peel the apples fling them into cold water. 

Bananas and Cream. 
Peel, slice, and heap up in a glass dessert-dish, and serve raw, 
with fine sugar and cream. 

To Crystallize Fruit. 
Pick out the finest of any kind of fruit — leave in the stones*, 
beat the whites of three eggs to a stiff froth; lay the fruit in the 

155 



156 FRESH FRUITS. 

beaten egg, Avith the stems upwai'd; drain tlieni and beat the part 

that drips off again; select them out, one by one, and dip them into 

i- cup of finely-powdered sugar; cover a pan with a sheet of fine 

paper, place the fruit on it, and set it in a cool oven; when the 

icing on the fruit becomes firm, pile them on a dish, and set them 

in a cold place. 

To Keep Grapes. 

Select nice fresh clusters, and cut the end of the stem smooth 
and dip it into melted sealing wax; then put it in cotton batting; 
pack them away in wooden boxes; keep them in a dry cool place. 
In this way they will keep fresh all winter. Another way — Take 
full bunches, ripe and perfect; seal the end that is cut from the 
vine so that no air can get in, or the juice of the stem run out, and 
let them stand one day after sealed, so as to be perfectly sure they 
are sealed (if not they will shrivel up) ; then pack in boxes of dry 
sawdust and keep in a cool place; they will keep nicely all winter 
without losing their flavor; in packing, do not crowd the bunches; 
sprinkle the sawdust over the bottom of the box, then lay the 
grapes carefully, a bunch at a time, all over the box, then sawdust 
and grapes alternately until the box is full. 

Meloxs. 
Melons are much nicer if kept on ice until time for serving. Cut 
off a slice at each end of the water-melon, then cut through the 
center; stand on end on platter. Cantaloupe melons should have 
the seeds removed before sending to the table. Eat with a spoon- 
ful of strained honey in each half of melon. 

Oranges, 
Slice, mix with powdered sugar, and strew grated cocoa-nut over 
the top. Are also nice served whole, the skins quartered and 
turned down. Form in a pyramid with bananas and white grapes. 

Candied Cherries. 
Two quarts large, ripe, red cherries, stoned carefully; two pounds 
loaf sugar, one cup water. Make a syrup of the sugar and water 



FRESH FRUITS. 167 

and boil until it is thick enough to " pull," as fox- candy. Remove 
to the side of the range, and stir until it shows signs of granula- 
tion. It is well to stir frequently while it is cooking, to secure this 
end. When there are grains or crystals on the spoon, drop in the 
cherries, a few at a time. Let each supply \ie in the boiling syrup 
two minutes, when remove to a sieve set over a dish. Shake gently 
but long, then turn the cherries out upon a cool, broad dish, and 
dry in a sunny window. 

Steaved Pears. 
Peel pears. Place them in a little water, with sugar, cloves,^ 
cinnamon and lemon peel. Stew gently, and add one gliass of cider. 
Dish up cold. 

Glace Cherries, 

Make as above, but do not let the syrup granulate. It should 
not be stirred at all, but when it " ropes " pour it over the cherries, 
which should be spread out upon a large flat dish. When the 
syrup is almost cold, take these out, one by one, with a teaspoon^ 
and spread iipon a dish to dry in the open air. If nicely managed- 
these are neariy :.s good as those put up by professional confec- 
tioners. Keep in a dry, cool place. 

Candied Lemon-Peel. 

Twelve fresh, thick-skinned lemons, four pounds loaf sugar, a 
little powdered alum, three cups clear water. Cut the peel from 
the lemons in long, thin strips, and lay in strong salt and water all 
night. Wash them in three waters next morning, and boil them 
until tender in soft water. They should b" almost translucent, but 
not so soft as to break. Dissolve a little alum — about half a tea- 
spoonful, when poAvdered — in enough cold water to cover the peel, 
and let it lie in it for two hours. By this time the syrup should be 
ready. Stir the sugar into three cups of water, add the strained 
juice of three lemons and boil it until it " ropes " from the end of 
the spoon. Put the lemon-peels into this, simmer gently half an 



158 FRESH FRUITS. 

hour; «ake them out and spread upon a sieve. Shake, not hard, 
but often, tossing up the peels now and then, until they are almost 
dry. Sift granulated sugar over them and lay out upon a table 
spread with a clean cloth. Admit the air freely, and, when per- 
fectly dry, pack in a glass jar. 



CHAPTER XL 



CANNING FRUIT. 



'OR the benefit of those thrifty housewives who have fruit of 
their own which they wish to save, or who think that any 
preparation of food made outside of the home kitchen, and 
branded " factory make," should be considered " common and 
unclean," we append a few recipes which will be found in every 
way satisfactory. 

The canning industry has grown within the few years of its 
existence to such enormous dimensions and includes so great a 
variety of articles, and competition is so sharp among the different 
firms who make it a specialty, that in point of expense it is cheaper 
to buy on the market than to purchase the fruit and be to the 
trouble and further expense of canning it at home. 

There is, probably, no one thing which has done more to drive 
stern winter beyond the threshold than this simple but late-discov- 
ored process of keeping fruit fresh by excluding the air, and there 
is genuine satisfaction in contemplating the rows of cans filled with 
the different kinds of fruit, showing clear and distinct through the 
glass, and we are conservative enough to hope that the time will 
not come when the business of canning fruit shall be relegated, 
entirely, into the hands of the mercenary factory owner with hia 
tin can with its overdrawn label. 

General Directions. 
First. See that the cans and elastics are perfect and that thts 
screw fits properly. Second. Have fruit boiling hot when sealed. 

159 



160 CANNING FRUIT. 

Have pan on stove in which each empty can is set to be filled after 
it is rolled in hot water. Fill can to overflowing, put on the top 
quickly, screw tightly; as contents cool, screw again and again, to 
keep tight. Third. Use glass cans, and keep in a cool, dark, but 
dry place. Light spoils them. 

Table for Canning Fruit. 

Time for Quantity- 
boiling of sugar 
fruit. per qt. 

Apricots 10 min. 8 oz. 

Sour Apples 10 " 6 '' 

Crab Apples 25 " 8 " 

Blackberries 6 " 6 " 

Gooseberries 8 " 8 " 

Raspberries 6 " 4 " 

Huckleberries 5 " 4 " 

Strawberries 8 " 8 " 

Cherries 5 " 6 " 

Currants 6 " 8 ' 

Wild Grapes 10 " 8 " 

Sour Pears, -whole 30 " 8 " 

Bartlett Pears 20 " 6 " 

Peaches, in halves 8 " 4 " 

Plums 10 " 8 " 

Peaches, whole 15 " 4 " 

Pine-apple, sliced 15 " 6 " 

Tomatoes 30 " " 

Quinces 30 " 10 " 

Rhubarb 10 " 10 " 

Apple Sauce. 
Ready for table use or for pies may be kept till apples are out of 
the market by putting it into hot jars and sealing at once. 

Canned Pine-apple. 
Pare the fruit and be xerv particular to cut out the eyes; chop 
fine and weigh it; add to it the same weight of sugar; mix thor- 
oughly in a large crock; let it stand twenty-four hours, then put 



CANNING FRUIT. 161 

iiito cans, filing them full, and seal tight. After leaving them 
about two weeks it is well to see if there are any signs of working; 
if so, pour into a kettle and heat through and replace in the cans. 

Canjted Pine-apple, No. 2. 

Three-fourths pound of sugar to one pound of fruit, allowing one 
cup of water to a pound of sugar. Pick the pine-apple to pieces 
with a silver fork; scald and can hot. 

Canned Berries. 
Heat slowly to boiling in a porcelain kettle; when they begin to 
boil, add sugar according to table above. Before doing this, how- 
ever, if there is much juice in the kettle, dip out the surplus and 
save for jelly; it will only increase the number of cans. Leave the 
berries almost dry before jDutting in the sugar, this will make syrup 
enough. Boil all together and can. 

Canned Pears. 
Prepare a syrup, allowing a pint of water and one-fourth pound 
of sugar to one quart of fruit. While this is heating peel the pears, 
dropping each as it is pared into a pan of clear water. When the 
syrup has come to a fast boil, put in the pears carefully and boil 
until they look clear and can be easily pierced by a fork. Have the 
cans ready rolled in hot water; pack with the pears and fill to over- 
flowing with the scalding syrup, Avhich must be kept on the fii"e all 
the while, and seal. The tougher and more common pears must be 
boiled in water until tender, and thrown while warm into the hot 
syrup, then allowed to boil ten minutes before they are canned. 

Canned Peaches. 

Pare, cut in half and stone, taking care not to break the fruit; 

drop each piece in cold water as soon as it is pared. Allow a 

heaping tablespoonf ul of sugar to each quart of fruit, scattering it 

between the layers. Fill your kettle and heat slowly to a boil. 

Boil three minutes, until every piece of fruit is heated through, 
u 



162 CANNING FRUIT. 

Can and seal. Put a cup of water in the bottom of the kettle 
before packing it with fruit, lest the lower layer should burn. 

Dried Peaches. 

Peaches, as usually dried, are a very good fruit; but can be made 
vastly better if treated the right way. Last season, the recipe 
which had quite a circulation in the papers, of drying the fruit by 
a stove after halving it, and sprinkling a little sugar into the cavity 
left by the extracted pits, was tried in our family. The fruit was 
found to be most excellent; better to the taste of nine out of ten 
persons, than any other peach preserves, by far. The peaches, 
however, were good ones before drying; for it is doubtful whether 
poor fruit can be made good by that process or any other. 



CHAPTER XII. 



ICES AND ICE-CREAMS. 



K^M 



LSE only the best materials for making and flavoring if good 
ice-cream is desired, and avoid using milk thickened with 
arrow-root, corn starch or any other farinaceous substance. 
Pure cream, ripe natural fruits, or the exti*acts of the same, and 
sugar of the purest quality, combine to make a perfect ice-cream. 
In the first place secure a good ice-cream freezer. Of these several 
are made. Without recommending any particular make, we would 
suggest one be secured working with a crank and revolving dashers. 
Next secure an ice tub not less than eight inches greater in diame- 
ter than the freezer. See that it has a hole in the side near the 
bottom, with a plug, which can be drawn at pleasure, to let off 
water accumulating from melting ice. Get a spatula of hard wood 
— not metal — with a blade about twelve inches long and four oi 
five inches wide and oval shaped at the end. This is used to scrapf 
off cream which may adhere to the sides of the freezer in the process 
of freezing, also for working fruits and flavorings into the cream. 
A smaller spade is also necessary for mixing ice and salt together, 
and for depositing this mixture in the intervening space between 
can and ice tub. Ice must be pounded fine in a coarse, strong bag. 
To freeze the cream after it has been flavored, first pound up ice 
and mix with it a quantity of coarse salt, in the proportion of one- 
third the quantity of salt to the amount of ice used. Put freezing 
can in center of tub, taking care that the lid is securely fastened on, 
and pile the mixed ice and salt around it on inside of tub to within 
three inches of top. First turn the crank slowly, and as the cream 

163 



164 ICES AND ICE-CREAMS. 

hardens increase the speed until the mixture is thoroughly con- 
gealed and the revolving dashers are frozen in. Remove the lid, 
take out the dashers, cut away the cream which has adhered to the 
sides and jDroceed to work the mixture with the sj^atula until it is 
smooth and soft to the tongue. Re-insert the dashers, cover the 
can again, and work the crank until the entire contents are hard 
and well set. It is now ready to be served. 

Berry Cream. 
Any kind of berries may be used for this, strawberries being the 
nicest. Mash with a potato masher in an earthen bowl, one quart 
of berries with one pound of sugar; rub it through the colander; 
add one quart sweet cream and freeze. Very ripe peaches or 
mashed apples may be used instead of the berries. 

Burnt Sugar Ice-Cream. 
Take one-half pound of sugar, burn half of it in a sauce-pan or 
skillet; stir in sufficient water to bring to a liquid state; add the 
other sugar with one pint of milk containing four eggs well beaten. 
Flavor strongly with lemon, proceed as with other ices. 

Chocolate Ice-Cream. 
Use three or four ounces of the common unsweetened chocolate 
to a gallon of cream, or boiled custard. Boil the chocolate in some 
milk and sweeten to taste ; strain it into the cream and flavor with 
vanilla. Beat the ice-cream to make it bright and rich colored. 
Melted chocolate cannot be mixed at once in cold cream as it sets 
and makes trouble. It must be considerably diluted first. 

Coffee Ice-Cream. 

To three quarts of pure, sweet cream add one pint of a decoction. 

of very strong clear coffee. Sugar as usual — eight ounces to the 

quart. 

Lemon Ice-Cream. 

This is made with the same proportion of cream and sugar and 
one lemon; grate the lemon rind into the sugar; this extracts the 



ICES AND ICE-CREAMS. 165 

oil; then add the juice and the raw cream; strain and freeze imme- 
diately. Lemon ci'eam sours more quickly than any other. 

Peach Ice-Cream. 
Take one quart of milk, two eggs, sugar to taste, one quart of 
peaches pared and stoned — mash and add to the custard. Proceed 
as usual. 

Pine-Apple Ice-Ceeam. 

Take two cans of pine-apples, two pounds of sugar, two quarts 
of cream (the cream must be nearly frozen, else the pine-apple pulp 
or syrup, upon being added, will immediately curdle it). Beat all 
thoroughly and finish freezing. 

Oeaistge Ice-Ceeam. 
Make a custard same as for vanilla; add orange pulp, or simply 
flavor with orange, if preferred. 

Steawbeeey and Raspbeeey Ice-Ceeam. 

Bruise a pint of strawberries or raspberries with two large 
spoonfuls of fine sugar; add a quart of cream and strain through a 
sieve and freeze it. If you have no cream, boil a teaspoonful of 
arrowroot in a quart of milk, and if you like, beat up one egg and 
«tir into it. 

Vanilla Ice-Cream. 

One quart of cream, half a pound of sugar, granulated, half a 
vanilla bean. Boil half the cream with the sugar and bean, then 
add the rest of the cream; cool and strain it. If extract of vanilla, 
or any other extract is used, do not boil it, but put it in the cream 
with the sugar and freeze. Make it strong with the flavoring, as it 
loses strength with freezing. 

CocoANUT Ice-Ceeam. 
Same as vanilla, omitting vanilla flavoring, and adding chopped 
<;ocoanut. 



106 ICES AND ICE-CREAMS. 

Frozen Tapioca Custard. 
Soak six or seven ounces of tapioca in one quart of milk; when 
soft, boil two quarts of milk sweetened with one and one-fourth 
pounds of sugar; then add the tapioca and let it cook fifteen min- 
utes; then stir in two ounces of butter and eight beaten eggs and 
take the custard immediately off the fire; cool and flavor with 
vanilla or lemon and freeze like ice-cream; w^hen nearly finished, 
add one cup of whipped cream and beat. well. 

Frozen Rice Custard. 
Wash six ounces of rice in several waters and cook it in milk; 
then proceed as in tapioca custard, using cinnamon or any other 
flavoring desired. 

Frozen Sago Custard. 
Soak the sago in cold milk first, it will then cook in a few 
minutes; then proceed as in tapioca custard. 

Water-Ices. 
These ai-e made with the juices of ripe fruits, sweetened and 
frozen like ice-cream; but it must be remembered that if the juices 
are sweetened excessively they will not freeze. It is therefore 
generally necessary to test them with an instrument called a 
saccharometer. This applies equally to ice-creams and all drinks 
to be frozen; and for M^ater-ices clarified sugar should be used, 
which may be prepared in the following manner: To a quart of 
water add three pounds of sugar and half of the white of an egg 
well beaten up. This should be boiled ten minutes and skimmed. 

Cherry Water-Ice with ISTut Cream. 
Two freezers will be required. For the cherry ice take two 
quarts of sweet cherries, one quart of water, one and one-half 
pounds of sugar. Pound the raw fruit in a mortar so as to break 
the stones and strain the juice through a fine strainer into the 
freezer. Boil the cherry pulp wnth some of the sugar and water to 



ICES AND ICE-CREAMS. 167 

extract the flavor from the kernels, and mash that also through the 
strainer; add to the remainder of water and sugar and freeze. No 
eggs are needed and only beat the ice enough to make it even and 
smooth. 

For the nut cream, use one pound of either pecan or hickory-nut 
meats, three-fourths of a pound of sugar, one quart of rich milk 
or cream, one tablespoonf ul of burnt sugar for coloring. Pick over 
the kernels carefully, that there be no fragments of shells to make 
the cream gritty, then pound them in a mortar with part of the 
sugar and a few spoonfuls of milk. Only a few can be pounded 
effectually at a time. Mix the milk Avith the pulp thus obtained, 
the rest of the sugar and caramel coloring, enough to make it like 
coffee and cream, and run it through a strainer into a freezer. 
Freeze it as usual and beat smooth with a spatula, then pack down 
with more ice to freeze firm. Line the moulds with cherry ice and 
fill the middle with the cream, or dish the ice as a border in shallow 
glasses with the cream piled in the center. 

Strawberry Water-Ice. 
To a pound of ripe strawberries and half a pound of currants add 
a pint of clarified sugar. If desired, a little coloring may be used. 
The whole must then be strained through a hair sieve and frozen. 

Raspberry "Water-Ice, 

This may be made the same as strawberry water-ice by merely 
substituting raspberries for strawberries. 

Burnt Almond Ice Cream and Orange-Ice. 

First make the almond candy as follows: Take one pound of 
sugar, three-fourths pound of sweet almonds, two ounces of bitter 
almonds. Blanch the almonds, split them and put them in a slow 
oven to dry and acquire a light yellow color; put the sugar in a 
kettle on the fire, without any water, and stir it until it is all melted 
and of the color of golden syrup; then put in the hot almonds, stir 
gently to mix and pour the candy on a platter. When cold, pound 
the candy quite fine, put it into three pints of rich milk, set it on 



168 ICES AND ICE-CREAMS. 

the fire, and when it boils add the beaten yolks of ten eggs. Strain 
the burnt almond custard thus made into a freezer, and freeze as 
usual and beat well. 

For the orange ice: Take three pints of water, one pound of 
«ugar, five or six oranges, according to size, juice of one lemon, if 
the oranges are sweet, whites of four eggs. Make a thick syrup of 
the sugar and a very little water. Peel half the oranges, divide 
them by their natural divisions and drop the pieces of oranges into 
the boiling syrup. Grate the yellow peel of the other three oranges 
into a bowl and squeeze in the juice, then pour the syrup from the 
scalded orange slices also into the bowl through a strainer and keep 
the slices on ice to be mixed in at the last. Add the water and 
lemon juice to the orange syrup in the bowl, strain and freeze. 
Beat in the whipped whites as usual, and when finished stir in the 
suo-ared fruit. Use the burnt almond cream and fill with the 
orange ice. 

Biscuit Glaces. 

To half a pound of jjowdered sugar add the yolks of four eggs; 
flavor with vanilla; beat well, then take two quai-ts of whipped 
cream and mix with the sugar and yolks; color some of it red and 
spread on the bottom of paper capsules and fill up with fresh cream. 
Then put them in a tin box with cover and pack well up on all sides 
with pounded ice and salt and let stand for two hours; it is then 
ready for use, 

Rateffe Biscuit Cream. 

Make the same as vanilla; when nearly frozen add one-half pound 
of rateffe biscuit and finish freezing. 

TuTTi Frutti. 

"When a rich vanilla cream is partly frozen, candied cherries, 
chopped raisins, chopped citron or any other candied fruit chopped 
rather fine are added; add about half the quantity of fruit that 
there is of ice-cream; mold and imbed in ice and salt; or make also 
two quarts of orange ice in another freezer, add the white of eggs 



ICES AND ICE-CREAMS. 169 

in the usual manner and beat it up white and smooth, then spread 
it evenly over the insides of two or three melon molds to coat them. 
Imbed the molds in the freezing mixture, and when the coating of 
orange ice is frozen firm fill up with the tutti frutti. Spread the 
-orange ice also on top, put on the lids, secure with a number of 
rubber bands, close all spaces securely with butter and place the 
molds in the freezing mixture to remain two or three hours. When 
to be served wash the outsides with a cloth dij^ped in tepid water, 
carefully turn out the tutti frutti on to a folded napkin on a dish, 
lay a decoration of gelatine paste upon the white surface and serve. 

Gelatine Paste for Ornamenting Ices. 
Make clear jelly in the usual manner, then reduce it by slow 
boiling to little more than half, color it as desired, filter again 
flavor, and cool it on large platters. Stamp out leaves, fern leaves, 
flower shapes, etc., and have them ready to place on the molded 
ices as soon as they are turned out. 

Pine-Apple Sherbet. 

Take two cans of pine-apples or the same amount of ripe pine- 
apples, two pounds of sugar, two quarts of water, whites of six 
^ggs. Strain the juice from the cans into the freezer. Make a 
boiling syrup of the sugar and one quart of water. Chop the pine- 
apples small, scald it in the boiling syrup, then rub it through a 
colander with the syrup and the remaining quart of water into the 
freezer. Freeze and add the whites of four eggs, and beat it per- 
fectly white. 

To Color Ice Cream or Water Ices. 

For Green, use juice of spinach or beet leaves. Vegetable green, 
already prepared, can be bought at the druggists. 

For Yellow, saffron soaked in warm water. 

For Red, take cochineal, which can be had at any druggists, or 
made as follows : One-quarter ounce cochineal, pound finely and add 
one-half pint boiling water, one-half ounce cream of tartar, one-quar- 



170 ICES AND ICE-CREAMS. 

ter ounce alum, and one-quarter ounce salt of tartar. Let it stand 
until the color is extracted, then strain and bottle. 

For Purple, mix a small quantity of cochineal and ultramarine 
blue. 

For Brown, use powdered chocolate. 

Other colors can be used, but these are all good, showy and quite 
harmless. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

ICINGS. 

^SiyOR icing cakes use only fresh eggs and sift your pulverized 
sugar. 

Almond Icing. 

Whites of three eggs, whisked to a standing froth, three-quarters 
pound of powdered sugar, one-half pound of sweet almonds, 
blanched and pounded to a paste. When beaten fine and smooth, 
work gradually into the icing; flavor with lemon juice and rose 
water. This frosting is delicious. Dry in the open air when this 
is practicable. 

Boiled Icing. 

One and one-half cups of sugar; put to this two tablespoonfuls 
of water; let it boil on the back of the stove until it is waxy, or 
stringy; then add whites of two eggs. 

Boiled Icing, No. 2. 

Whites of four eggs, beaten stiff; one pint of sugar, melted in 
water and then boiled; add to it the eggs, and beat until cold. 

Chocolate Icing. 

Take the whites of two eggs, one and one-half cups powdered 
sugar, and six large tablespoonfuls of chocolate. 

Chocolate Icing, No. 2. 

One-half cake of chocolate grated fine, two-thirds of a cup of 
sugar, one-half cup of milk or cream; boiled and stirred to a paste. 

171 



172 ICINGS. 

Chocolate Icing, No. 3. 
One-half cake chocolate; warm in the oven ten minutes; add one 
heaping cup of sugar, one teaspoonful cinnamon, one-half teaspoon- 
ful cloves, the same of ginger, two teaspoonfuls of vanilla; pour a 
little water on the sugar, put it on the chocolate, heat on the stove, 
melt it to a smooth paste, stir in the spices. 

Clear Icing, for Cake. 
Put one cup sugar into a bowl with a tablespoonful lemon juice 
and whites of two eggs. Just mix together smooth and pour over 
the cake; if the cake is not hot enough to dry it, place it in the 
mouth of a moderately warm oven. 

Icing for Cakes. 
Whites of four eggs, one pound of pulverized sugar, flavor with 
lemon; break the whites into a broad, cool, clean dish; throw a 
small handful of sugar upon them and begin to whip it in with 
long, even strokes of the beater. A few minutes later throw in 
more sugar and keep adding it at intervals until it is all used up. 
Beat until the icing is of a smooth, fine and firm texture; if not 
stiff enough, put in more sugar; use at least a quarter of a pound 
of sugar for each egg. To spread it, use a broad-bladed knife 
dipped in cold water. 

TuTTi Frutti Frosting. 
One-half cup of water, three cups of sugar, whites of two eggs; 
boil sugar and water until very thick and waxy; beat the whites of 
eggs to a stiff froth, and pour the syrup over them, beating all till 
cool; then add one-half pound of almonds, chopped fine; one small 
half cup of large white raisins, and a little citron, sliced thin. 
Very nice for sponge cake. 

Lemon Icing. 
Whites of two eggs, two cups of sugar, juice and a part of the 
rind of two lemons. 



ICINGS. 173 

Ornamental Icing. * 

Fill a paper cone with the icing, and Av^ork upon the cake, by 
slightly pressing the cone, any design you may choose. 

Yellow Icing. 
Yolk of one egg to nine heaping teaspoonfuls of pulveri;?ed sugar 
and flavor with vanilla, or lemon. 

Rose Coloring. 
Mix together one-fourth ounce each of powdered alum and cream 
of tartar, one ounce cochineal, four ounces loaf sugai', a 8:\ltspoon- 
ful of soda. Boil ten minutes in a pint of clear, soft water; when 
cool, bottle and cork for use. This is used for jellieS;- cakes, ice- 
cream, etc. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

JAMS AND JELLIES. 

■N making jam, the first thing to be looked after is the fruit. As 
a general rule, this should be fully ripe, fresh, sound, and 
^ scrupulously clean and dry. It should be gathered in the 
morning of a sunny day, as it will then possess its finest flavor. 
The best sugar is the cheapest; indeed, there is no economy in 
stinting the sugar either as to quality or necessary quantity, for 
inferior sugar is wasted in scum, and the jam will not keep unless a 
sufficient proportion of sugar is boiled with the fruit. At the same 
time too large a proportion of sugar will destroy the natural flavor 
of the fruit, and in all probability make the jam candy. The sugar 
should be dried and broken up into small pieces before it is mixed 
with the fruit. If it is left in large lumps it will be a long time in 
dissolving, and if it is crushed to powder it will make the jam look 
thick instead of clear and bright. The quantity to be used must 
depend in every instance on the nature of the fruit. Fruit is gen- 
erally boiled in a brass or copper kettle uncovered, and this should 
be kept perfectly bright and clean. Great care should be taken 
not to place the kettle flat upon the fire, as this will be likely to 
make the jam burn to the bottom. Glass jars or cans are much the 
best for jams, as through them the condition of the fruit can be 
observed. Whatever jars are used, however, the jam should be 
examined every three weeks for the first two months, and if there 
are any signs of mold or fermentation it should be boiled over 
again. If you do not use the patent glass jar, the best way to cover 
jam is to lay a piece of paper the size of the jar upon the jam, to 

174 



JAMS AND JELLIES. 175 

stretch over the top a piece of writing paper or tissue paper which 
has been dipped in white of egg, and to press the sides closely- 
down. When dry, this paper will be stiff and tight like a di-um. 
The strict economist may use gum Arabic dissolved in water instead 
of white of egg. The object aimed at is to exclude the air entirely. 
Jam should be stored in a cool, dry place, but not in one into 
which fresh air never enters. Damp has a tendency to make the 
fruit mold, and heat to make it ferment. Some cooks cover the 
jam as soon as possible after it is poured out, but the generally- 
approved plan is to let the fruit grow cool before covering it. In 
making jam continual watchfulness is required, as the result of five 
minutes' inattention may be loss and disappointment. 

Apricot Jam. 

Pare three pounds of fresh, sound apricots, halve them, and take 
out the stones. They should be ripe enough to halve with the 
fingers. Place them in a deep dish, and strew over them one pound 
of finely sifted sugar. Let them remain for eight hours. Then 
place them with the syrup that will have oozed from them in ? 
preserving-pan; add a few of the kernels blanched and sliced, anc* 
another pound and a half of sugar. Let them boil very gently, 
and, when done, put them into glasses or jars and cover closely with 
gummed paper. 

Marmalades axd Jams. 
In making marmalades, jams, etc. — If put up in small quantities 
and for immediate use, three-quarters of a pound of sugar to one 
pound of fruit is sufficient; but if desirable to keep them longer, a 
pound of sugar to a pound of fruit is a better proportion. As in 
preserves, the best sugar should be used, 

Apple Jam. 

Peel and core the apples, cut in thin slices and put them in a 
preserving kettle with three-quarters of a pound of white sugar to 
every pound of fruit; add (tied up in a piece of muslin) a few 



176 JAMS AND JELLIES. 

cloves, a small piece of ginger and a thin rind of lemon ; stir with a 
wooden spoon on a quick fire for half an hour. 

Blackberry, Raspberry, Curra:nt or Strawberry Jam, 
May be made by putting into a preserving kettle and boiling 
fifteen or twenty minutes, stirring often and skimming off any 
«cum that may rise; then add sugar in the proportion of three- 
fourths pound of sugar to one pound of fruit. Boil thirty minutes 
Jonger stirring continually; when done pour into small jars or jelly 
glasses. A good way is to mix raspberries and currants in the pro- 
portion of two-thirds of the former to one-third of the latter. 

Grape, Gooseberry, or Plum Jam. 

Stew the berries in a little water, press through a coarse sieve or 
colander; then return to the kettle and add three-fourths pound of 
sugar to one pound of the pulped fruit. Boil three-fourths of an 
hour, stiri'ing constantly. Pour in jars or bowls and cover as 
directed for other jams. 

Apple Marmalade. 

Peel and slice the apples; weigh and put into a kettle and stew 
until tender; wash fine and add sugar in proportion of pound to 
pound; let them cook slowly, stirring very frequently; be careful 
not to allow it to scorch; when the mass has a jellied appearance it 
is done. About half an hour will generally be found sufficient for 
making the marmalades after adding the sugar. 

Orange Marmalade. 

Eighteen sweet, ripe oranges, six pounds best white sugar. Grate 
the peel from four oranges, and reserve it for the marmalade. The 
rinds of the rest will not be needed. Pare the fruit carefully, 
removing the inner white skin as well as the yellow; slice the 
orange; remove the seeds; put the fruit and grated peel in a por- 
celain or enamel saucepan and boil steadily until the pulp is reduced 
to a smooth mass; take from the fire and rub quickly through a 



JAMS AND JELLIES. 177 

clean, bright colander, as the color is easily injured. Stir in the 
sugar, retui-n to the fire, and boil fast, stirring constantly half an 
hour, or until thick. Put while warm into small jars, but do not 
cover until cold. This is a handsome and delicious sweetmeat. 

Pine-Apple Marmalade. 

? Pare, slice, core, and weigh the pine-apple; then cut into small 
bits; make a syrup of a cup of water to two pounds of sugar; melt 
and heat to a boil; heat the chopped pine-apple in a vessel set 
within one of boiling water, covering it closely to keep in the 
flavor; when it is smoking hot all through, and begins to look 
clear, add to the syrup; boil together half an hour, stirring all the 
while, or until it is a clear, bright paste. 

Peach Marmalade. 

Pare, stone, and weigh the fruit; heat slowly to draw out the 
juice, stirring up often from the bottom with a wooden spoon; after 
it is hot, boil quickly, still stirring, three-quarters of an hour; add, 
then, the sugar, allowing three-quarters of a pound to each pound 
of the fruit; boil up well for five minutes, taking off every particle 
of scum; add the juice of a lemon for every three pounds of fruit, 
and the water in which one-fourth of the kernels have been boiled 
and steeped; stew all together ten minutes, stirring to a smooth 
paste, and take from the fire; put up hot in air-tight cans, or, when 
cold, in small stone or glass jars, with brandied tissue-paper fitted 
neatly to the surface of the marmalade. A large ripe pine-apple, 
pared and cut up fine, and stirred with the peaches, is a fine addi- 
tion to the flavor. 

Quince Marmalade. 

Such quinces as are too knotty and defective to make good pre- 
serves may be pared and cored, cut into small pieces and put into 
the kettle with three-quarters of a pound of sugar to each pound of 
fruit; put a small cup of cold water in first to prevent burning. 
When the quince begins to soften, take a potato masher and mash it 



178 JELLIES. 

to a pulp, without taking it from the fire; let it boil gently from 
fifteen to twenty minutes, not longer than twenty. Take from the 
fire and put into jars. 

Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and grapes all make nice 
marmalades. 

Plum Marmalade. 

Choose plums that are fully ripe; scald them till the skins peel 
off, and take out the stones. Allow a pound and a half of sugar to 
a pound of fruit; let them lie in the sugar a few hours, then boil to 
a smooth mass. 

Pumpkin Marmalade, 

Take ripe, yellow pumpkins, pare and cut them into large pieces, 
scraping out the seeds with an iron spoon; weigh the pieces, and to 
every pound allow one pound of white sugar, and a small orange or 
lemon; grate pieces of pumpkin on a coarse grater, and put, 
together with the sugar, into a preserving pan, the yellow rind of 
the orange, grated, and the juice, strained. Let all boil slowly, 
stirring it frequently and skimming it well till it is a smooth, thick 
marmalade; put it warm into small glass jars or tumblers ant* lay a 
double round of tissue paper with a bladder or waxed paper. 



JELLIES. 



Apple Jelly, 



Slice the apples, skins, cores and all; put them in a stone jaP with 
a small quantity of water to keep them from sticking; then place 
the jar in water and let them remain boiling until perfectly soft; 
then strain and to one pint of the liquor add three-quarters of a 
pound of loaf sugar; boil and clear with the whites of two or three 
eggs beaten to a froth. When it jellies pour into the glas?«v3 to 
cool and seal them. 



JELLIES. ■ 179 

Blackberry Jelly. 

Take blackberries before they are ripe, when they are turned red, 
put them into a porcelain kettle and cook until reduced to a pulp; 
then strain them and to a pint of juice add one pound of sugar. 
Boil to a jelly. 

Cranberry Jelly. 

Stew the cranberries until they are tender, then pour into a jelly- 
bag and let drip over night; take one pound of sugar to each pint 
of juice; let the juice boil five minutes, then pour in the sugar and 
stir until thoroughly dissolved. 

Crab-Apple Jelly. 
Boil the fruit whole in water enough to cover it until perfectly 
soft, then pour into a coarse linen bag and let it drip until it ceases, 
then press it a little. Allow one pound of sugar to each pint of 
juice. If you choose add the juice of a lemon to each quart of 
syrup. Boil the juice first, then skim it; heat the sugar in a dish 
in the oven and add it as the juice boils up. Boil gently twenty 
minutes and pour in tumblers or molds. 

Currant Jelly. 
From the Home Messenger we copy the following: This recipe 
is the only one which we will warrant to make good jelly against 
odds. We have made jelly by it on the fifth of July and on the 
fifteenth, and each time it was a perfect success. While we recom- 
mend all persons to make their jelly from fresh fruit, early in tha 
season, we can still assure those who are behindhand that they need 
not despair of jelly that will set firm and hard later in the season. 
Run the currants through your hand picking out the leaves and 
any stray thing that may adhere to them but leaving the currants 
on their stems. Weigh the fruit, being accurate in remembering the 
number of pounds. Put a pint of water into your preserving kettle 
and add a bowl or two of currants, mashing and pressing them till 
A'ou have sufficient juice to cover the bottom of the kettle; th^a 



180 JELLIES. 

add Ibe remainder of the currants; let them come to a boil and boil 
at least twenty minutes, of course stirring and pressing them from 
time to time that they may not buri;i. Have a three-cornered 
bag of thin but strong unbleached cotton that has been well 
scalded and wrung till almost dry; hang it up and pour the boiled 
currants into it. Let it drip into a stone crock all night, but by no 
means squeeze it, the currants will drain perfectly dry. In the 
morning pour the strained juice into the preserving kettle without 
measuring; let it come to a boil and boil thorougly for three or 
four minutes, then pour in half as many pounds of sugar as you 
had pounds of currants. For instance, a peck of currants will 
probably weigh twelve pounds; therefore use six pounds of sugar. 
The moment the sugar is entirely dissolved the jelly is done. To 
make sure of the sugar being entirely dissolved see that it begins 
to jelly on the ladle. It Avill look thick and drop thick and a little 
stringy, but if let heat beyond this point it will loose its thickness 
and not jelly nearly so well and always disappoint you if you lose 
faith in your instructions and insist upon ' letting it come to a boil.' 
All the boiling is done before you put in the sugar. 

Currant Jelly. 

One pound of granulated sugar to each pint of juice. Squeeze 
the currants and boil twenty minutes, then add the sugar, which 
should be heating while the juice boils; stir well together until the 
sugar is well dissolved. 

Grape Jelly. 

Put the grapes into a preserving kettle and heat, bruising them 
meantime with a potato masher, until the juice runs freely, then 
strain through a sieve or thin cloth and measure one pint of juice 
for one pound of sugar. Boil the juice fifteen or twenty minutes 
before putting in the sugar; after adding the sugar let it boil from 
three to five minutes. All fruit will form more readily into a jelly 
if not quite ripe. 



JELLIES. 181 

Peach Jelly. 
Crack one-third of the kernels and put them into the jar with the 
peachee, which have been wiped, stoned and sliced. Heat in a pot 
of boiling water, stirring occasionally until the fruit is well broken; 
strain, and to every pint of peach juice add the juice of a lemon; 
measure again and to every pint of juice allow one pound of sugar. 
Heat the sugar very hot and add when the juice has boiled twenty 
minutes. Let it come to a boil and take instantly from the lire. 

Pie-Plant Jelly. 
Stew the stalks until tender in a preserving kettle; strain through 
a jelly-bag; flavor with extract of lemon. To each pint of juice 
add a pound of sugar; boil until it jellies on the skimmer; remove 
it from the fire and put into jars. 

Quince Jelly. 

Peel, cut up and core some fine, ripe quinces; put them in suffi- 
cient cold water to cover them and stew gently till soft, but not 
red; strain the juice without pressure, weigh, and to every pound 
of juice allow one pound of crushed sugar; boil the juice twenty 
minutes, add the sugar and boil again until it jellies — about a quar- 
ter of an hour; stir and skim well all the time; strain through thin 
cloth into your jelly glasses, and when cold, cover it. The 
remainder of the fruit can be made into marmalade with three- 
quarters of a pound of sugar and a quarter of a pound of juicy 
apples to every pound of quinces, or it can be made into compotes 
or tarts. 

Quince Jelly, No. 2. 

Take the cores and parings of the quinces, put them in enough 
cold water to cover them, and boil until they are soft; squeeze, and 
add the juice to the water, and any syrup which may be left from 
the quince preserve, and strain it; to each pint of juice allow a 
pound of sugar; spread the sugar in pans, put it in the oven to 
heat, it must be watched and stirred to prevent burning. Let the 



182 GELATINE JELLIES. 

juice boil for five minutes, then pour in the hot sugar, stirring until 
it is entirely dissolved, and skimming any scum that may rise. 
There will be very little. Let it come to a boil, then take from the 
fire and put in jars or glasses; the jelly will be clear, of a good 
color and keep well. All kinds of jellies can be made in this way, 
and it saves much labor in the time of boiling the juices and the 
trouble of skimming. 



GELATINE JELLIES. 

Coffee Jelly. 

One box gelatine soaked for an hour in just water enough to 
cover; take one quart of strong coffee, made as for table use; 
sweeten it to taste; have the coffee hot and add the dissolved gela- 
tine; stir well and strain into a mold that has just been rinsed in 
cold water. Set on ice or in a cool place, and when cold, serve 
with whipped cream. 

Lemon Snow Jelly. 

Dissolve one box of gelatine in nearly a quart of boiling water, 
then add the juice of five lemons and enough of sugar to sweeten 
to taste; strain and set aside until nearly cool. Beat the whites of 
five eggs and whip into the jelly; turn into a dish and let it set 
until cool. After it becomes solid, decorate with pieces of red 
jelly. 

Lemon Jelly, 

One ounce of gelatine, red is the best, one pound of sugar, one 
quart of boiling water, and four lemons; cut the lemons into slices 
and bruise them, then add the sugar and gelatine, and pour upon 
the whole boiling water; set the vessel containing them upon the 
stove and stir until the gelatine is thoroughly dissolved; then pour 
into molds and set to cool. 



GELATINE JELLIES. 183 

Orange Jelly. 

Take two ounces of gelatine and pour on hot water enough to 
cover it, and let soak until it is dissolved; boil together one quart 
of water and one-half pound of sugar, and add the dissolved gela- 
tine; add the juice of five oranges and one lemon and the whites of 
two eggs, well beaten. Boil a few minutes and strain through a 
jelly-bag; turn into molds and set to cool. 

Any jellies may be colored by using fruit coloring, which may be 
obtained at the bakeries. 

Wine Jelly. 

One box of gelatine dissolved in just water enough to cover it, 
one pint of wine, one pint of boiling water, one pint of granulated 
sugar, and juice of three lemons. 

MOULDINESS. 

Fruit jellies may be preserved from mouldiness by covering the 
surface one-fourth of an inch deep with finely pulverized loaf sugar. 
Thus protected, they will keep in good condition for years. 



CHAPTER XV. 



MUSHROOMS. 



HE peasants of a great portion of Europe eat mushrooms raw 
with salt and dry bread, and wholesome and good they are. 
The true flavor of mushrooms, nevertheless, is greatly height- 
ened by cooking; and cook 
them how you may — a broil, a 
stew, or a fry, with the simple 
addition of butter, salt, and 
pepper, and they are excellent. 
There is one rule that should 
always be observed in what- 
ever mode they are cooked, 
and that is that they should be 
served up quickly and hot. 
The following modes of cook- 
ing mushrooms may prove use- 
ful: 

MUSHBOOMS ALT GrATIN. 

Take twelve large mushrooms about two inches in diameter, pare 
the stalks, wash, and drain the mushrooms on a cloth; cut off and 
chop the stalks. Put in a quart stewpan an ounce of butter and 
half an ounce of flour; stir over the fire for two minutes; then add 
one pint of broth; stir till reduced to half the quantity. Drain the 
chopped stalks of the mushrooms thoroughly in a cloth; put them 
in the sauce with three tablespoonfuls of chopped and washed 

1S4 




MUSHROOMS. 18& 

parsley, one tablespoonful of chopped and washed whalot, two 
pinches of salt, a small pinch of pepper; reduce on a brisk fire for 
eight minutes, put two tablespoonfuls of oil in a saute pan; set the 
mushrooms in, the hollow part upwards; fill them with the fine 
herbs, and sprinkle over them lightly a tablespoonful of raspings; 
put in a brisk oven for ten minutes and serve. 

Mushrooms a la Pkovencale. 
Take mushrooms of good size; remove the stems and soak them 
in olive oil; cut up the stems with a clove of garlic and some pars- 
ley; add meat of sausages, and two yolks of eggs to unite them; 
dish the mushrooms, and garnish them with the forcemeat; sprinkle 
them with fine oil, and dress them in an oven, or in a four de 

campagne. 

Mushrooms a la Creme. 

Trim and rub half a pint of button mushrogms, dissolve two 
ounces of butter rolled in flour in a stewpan, then put in the mush- 
rooms, a bunch of parsley, a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonf ul 
each of white pepper and of powdered sugar, shake the pan round 
for ten minutes, then beat up the yolks of two eggs, with two 
tablespoonfuls of cream, and add by degrees to the mushrooms; in 
two or three minutes you can serve them in the sauce. 

Baked Mushrooms. 

Peel the tops of twenty mushrooms; cut off a portion of the 

stalks, and wipe them carefully with a piece of flannel, dipped in 

salt; lay the mushrooms in a tin dish, put a small piece of butter 

on the top of each, and season them Avith pepper and salt. Set the 

dish in the oven, and bake from twenty minutes to half an hour. 

"When done, arrange them high in the centre of a very hot dish, 

pour the sauce round them and serve quickly and as hot as you 

possibly can. 

Breakfast Mushrooms. 

Clean a dozen or so of medium size; place two or three ounces of 
nice, clean beef-dripping in the frying pan, and with it a table- 



186 MUSHROOMS. 

spoonful or more of nice beef gravy. Set the pan on a gentle fire, 
and as the dripping melts place in the mushrooms, adding salt and 
pepper to taste. In a few minutes they will be cooked, and being 
soaked in the gravy and served upon a hot plate, will form a capital 
dish. In the absence of gi'avy, a soupcon of " extractum carnis " 
may be substituted. 

Curried Mushrooms. 
Peel and remove the stems from a dish of full-grown mushrooms, 
sprinkle with salt, and add a very little butter; stew them gently 
in a little good gi'avy or stock. Add four tablespoonfuls of cream, 
and one teaspoonful of curry powder, previously well mixed with 
two teaspoonfuls of wheat flour; mix carefully, and serve on a hot 
dish, with hot toast and hot plates attendant. Mind the "curry 
stuff " is good, says an Indian friend, and not too much of it. The 
word " curry," by itself, it seems, being merely the Tamul word for 
"meat." The large horse mushroom, when half or three parts 
grown, and curried in this fashion, will be found to be delicious. 

Mushrooms en Caisse. 
Peel the mushrooms lightly, and cut them into pieces. Put them 
into cases of buttered paper, with a bit of butter, parsley, green 
onions, and shalots chopped up, salt and pepper. Dress them oi> 
the gridiron over a gentle fire, and serve in the cases. 

Mushroom Catsup. 
Mushroom catsup is more highly esteemed and more generally 
useful than any other. It is best when made of large mushroom 
flaps, fully ripe, fresh, and perfectly dry — that is, gathered during 
dry weather. If this point is not attended to the catsup will not 
keep. Do not wash nor skin the mushrooms, but carefully remove 
any decayed, dirty, or worm-eaten portions; cut off about half an 
inch from the end of the stalks, then break the rest into small 
pieces, put them into an earthen jar, and strew three-fourths of a 
pound of salt amongst two gallons of mushrooms, scattering the 
larger portions on top. Let them remain all night, and the next 



MUSHROOMS. 187 

Jay stir them gently with a wooden spoon, and repeat this three 
times a day for two days. At the end of that time put the jar into 
a cool oven for half an hour, then strain the liquid which flows from 
them through a coarse cloth, and let it boil for a quarter of an hour. 
Do not squeeze the mushrooms. To every quart of the liquid put 
a quarter of an ounce each of Jamaica ginger and black pepper, and 
a drachm of mace. Boil again till the quantity is reduced one- 
half. Pour it out, and let it stand until cool, then put it into per- 
fectly dry bottles, being careful to leave the sediment, which will 
have settled to the bottom, undisturbed. Seal the corks and keep 
in a cool, dry place. 

Mushrooms en Ragout, 
Put into a stew-pan a little stock, a small quantity of vinegar, 
parsley, and green onions chopped up, salt and spices. When thif< 
is about to boil, the mushrooms being cleaned, put them in. When 
done, remove them from the fire, and thicken with yolks of eggs. 

Mushrooms "vvith Bacon. 
Take some full-grown mushrooms, and having cleaned them, 
procure a few rashers of nice streaky bacon, and fry it in the usual 
manner. When nearly done, add a dozen or so of mushrooms, and 
fry them slowly until they are cooked. In this process they will 
absorb all the fat of the bacon, and with the addition of a little salt 
and pepper, will form a most appetizing breakfast relish. 

Mushroom Stems. 
If young and fresh, make a capital dish when the supply of 
mushrooms is limited. Rub them quite clean, and after washing 
them in salt and water, slice them to the thickness of a shilling, 
then place them in a sauce-pan with suflicient milk to stew them 
tender; throw in a piece of butter and some flour for thickening, 
and salt and pepper to taste. Serve upon a toast of bread, in a hot 
dish, and add sippets of toasted bread. This makes a light and 
very delicate supper dish, and is not bad sauce to a boiled fowl. 



188 MUSHROOMS. 

To Stew Mushrooms. 
Trim and rub clean a half pint large button mushrooms; put into 
a stew-pan two ounces of butter; shake over the fire until thor- 
oughly melted; put in the mushi-ooms, a teaspoonful of salt, half as 
much pepper, and a small piece of mace pounded; stew till the 
mushrooms are tender, then serve them on a hot dish. They are 
usually sent in as a breakfast dish, thus prepared iu butter. 

To Pot Mushrooms. 

The small open mushrooms suit best for potting. Trim and rub 
them; put into a stew-pan a quart of mushrooms, three ounces of 
butter, two teaspoonfuls of salt, and half a teaspoonful of Cayenne 
and mace mixed, and stew for ten or fifteen minutes, or till the 
mushrooms are tender; take them carefully out and drain them 
perfectly on a sloping dish, and when cold press them into small 
pots, and pour clarified butter over them, in which state they will 
keep for a week or two. If required to be longer preserved, put 
writing paper over the butter, and over that melted suet, which 
will effectually preserve them for many weeks, if kept in a dry, cool 
place. 

Mushrooms and Toast. 

Peel the mushrooms, and take out the stems. Fry them over a 
quick fire. When the butter is melted take off the pan. Squeeze 
the juice of a lemon into it. Let the mushrooms fry again for some 
minutes. Add salt, pepper, spices, and a spoonful of water, in 
which a clove of garlic, having been cut into pieces, has soaked for 
half an hour; let it stew. When the mushrooms are done make a 
thickening of yolks of eggs. Pour the mushrooms on bread fried 
in butter, and laid in a dish ready for them. 

Mushrooms on Toast. 
Put a pint of mushrooms into a stew-pan, with two ounces of 
butter rolled in flour; add a teaspoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful 
of white pepper, a blade of mace powdered, and half a teaspoonful 



MUSHROOMS. 189 

grated lemon; stew till the butter is all absorbed, then add as much 
white roux as Avill moisten the mushrooms; fry a slice of bread in 
butter, to fit the dish, and as soon as the mushrooms are tender 
serve them on the toast. 

To Pickle Mushrooms. 
Select a number of small, sound, pasture mushrooms, as nearly as 
possible alike in size; throw them for a few minutes into cold 
water; then drain them; cut off the stalks, and gently rub off the 
outer skin with a moist flannel dipped in salt; then boil the vin- 
egar, adding to each quart two ounces of salt, half a nutmeg sliced, 
a drachm of mace, and an ounce of white pepper-corns; put the 
mushrooms into the vinegar for ten minutes over the fire; then 
pour the whole into small jars, taking cai'e that the spices are 
equally divided; let them stand a day, then cover them. 

Another Method. 
In pickling mushrooms, take the buttons only, and while they are 
quite close, cut the stem off even with the gills, and rub them quite 
clean. Lay them in salt and water for forty-eight hours, and then 
add pepper and vinegar, in which black pepper and a little mace 
have been boiled. The vinegar must be applied cold. So pickled 
they will keep for years. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PICKLES. 



PCKLES are made of fruit or vegetables preserved in vinegar, 
and may be used as accompaniments to cold meat, to garnish 
dishes, and to flavor hashes and sauces. It is generally 
understood that they can be bought cheaper than they can be made. 
Nevertheless, there is always a certain amount of satisfaction in 
using home-made preparations, as by this means the quality of the 
article can be assured beyond all question, and many ladies take 
great pride in their store of home-made pickles, A great outcry 
was raised some years ago about the unwholesomeness of pickles, 
and attention was called to the fact that most of those ordinarily 
sold were positively pernicious, because the vinegar used in making 
them was boiled in copper vessels. This evil has now been, to a 
great extent, remedied; and it may be reasonably assumpd that 
pickles which are sold by respectable dealers have been properly 
prepared. At the same time, for safety's sake, the rule should be 
laid down that all pickles which are beautiful and brilliant in color 
and appearance should be avoided, as this is a certain sign that the 
vinegar used has been boiled in a metal pan. In making pickles, 
care must be taken that the vegetables and fruit used for the pur- 
pose are procured at the right season, that they are perfectly sound, 
not overripe, and have been gathered on a dry day. They should 
be trimmed and wiped before they are used, and not washed, unless 
they are afterwards to be partially boiled or soaked. The vinegar 
must be of the best quality. White wine vinegar is generally 
r-fcommended, for the sake of the appearance, but it is not as 

190 



PICKLES. 191 

wholesome as the best cider vinegar. Metal utensils should never 
be used in making pickles, as the vinegar acting upon the metal 
produces a poison. Enameled or stone vessels and wooden spoons 
should therefore be used; and the best method that can be adopted 
is to put the vinegar into a stone jar, and heat it on a stone or hot 
hearth. Pickles should be kept in glass bottles, or unglazed earthen 
jars, and should be closely corked, and the corks sealed down, 
or covered with wet bladder. They should be stored in a dry 
place. As the vinegar becomes absorbed more should be added, as 
it is important that the vegetables should be covered at least two 
inches above the surface with vinegar. If any of the vinegar is 
left after the pickle is used, it should be boiled up with fresh spices, 
and bottled for flavoring sauces, etc. It should be remembered 
that to boil vinegar is to decrease its strength. If it is wished to 
hasten the preparation of the pickles, partially boil the vegetables 
in brine and let them cool and get quite dry before the vinegar is 
poured over them. 

Pickled Artichokes. 

Boil your artichokes in strong salt and water for two or three 
minutes; lay on a hair sieve to drain; when cold, lay in narrow- 
topped jars. Take as much white wine vinegar uj will cover the 
artichokes, and boil it with a blade or two of mace, some root 
ginger, and a nutmeg grated fine. Pour it on hot, seal and put 
away for use. 

Pickled Butternuts and Walnuts. 

Gather them when soft enough to be pierced by a pin; lay them 
in brine five days, changing this twice in the meantime; drain, and 
wipe them with a coarse cloth; pierce each by running a large 
needle through it, and lay in cold water for six hours. To each 
gallon of vinegar allow a cup of sugar, three dozen each of cloves 
and black peppers, half as much allspice, and a dozen blades of 
mace. Boil five minutes; pack the nuts in small jars and pour over 
them scalding hot. Repeat this twice within a week; tie up and 
set away. They will be good to eat in a month. 



192 PICKLES. 

Pickled Beans. 
The beans should be gathered young. Place them in a strong 
brine of salt and water; when turning yellow, which will be in a 
day or two, remove them and wipe them dry. Boil the vinegar 
with a little mace, whole pepper, and ginger (two ounces of pepper 
and one ounce each of ginger and mace to each quart of vinegar); 
pour this over the beans. A small bit of alum, or a teaspoonful of 
soda will bring back the color. Cover them to keep in the steam 
and reboil the vinegar the next day; throw over hot as before. 
Cover, but do not tie down till cold. 

Pickled Beets. 

Take the beets, cleanse and boil two hours. When cold peel 

and slice, put into a jar and cover with vinegar prepared in the 

following manner: Boil half an ounce each of cloves, pepper-corns, 

mace and ginger in a pint of vinegar, when cold add another pint. 

Pickled Beocoli. 

Choose the finest, whitest and closest vegetables before they are 
quite ripe. Pare off all green leaves and the outsides of the stalks. 
Parboil them in well-salted water. When drained and diy pull off 
the branches in convenient sized pieces and put them into a jar of 
pickle prepared as for onions. Time to parboil, four or five 
minutes. 

Bottled Pickles. 

Wash and wipe small cucumbers; put into a stone jar and cover 
with salt — allowing a pint of salt to a half bushel of cucumbers — 
and pour over them boiling water enough to cover. Place a gallon 
at a time on the stove, cover with vinegar, and add a lump of alum 
about the size of a hickory nut. Put on the stove in another kettle 
a gallon of the very best cider vinegar, to which add half a pint of 
brown sugar; have bottles cleansed and placed to heat on stove in 
a vessel of cold water; also have a cup of heated sealing-wax. 
Have spices prepared in separate dishes as follows: Green and red 



PICKLES. 193 

peppers sliced in rings; horse-radish roots washed, scraped and cut 
in small pieces; black and yellow mustard seed if liked, each pre- 
pared by sprinkling with salt and pouring on some boiling water, 
which let stand for fifteen minutes and then draw off; stick of 
cinnamon broken into pieces and a few cloves. When pickles come 
to boiling point, take out and pack in bottles, mixing with them the 
"epices. Put in a layer of pickles, then a layer of spices, shaking 
the bottles occasionally so as to pack tightly. When full, cover 
with the boiling hot vinegar from the other kettle (using a bright 
funnel and tin cup), going over them a second time and filling up, 
in order to supply shrinkage, for the pickles must be entirely 
covered with vinegar. Put in the corks, which should fit very 
snugly; lift each bottle and dijD the corked end in the hot sealing- 
wax; proceed in this manner with each bottle, dipping each a 
second time into the wax so that they may be perfectly secure. 
Glass cans, the covers of which have become defective, can be used 
by supplying corks. Pickles prepai-ed in this way are superior to 
imported pickles. 

Mary's Pickled Blackberries. 
Three quarts blackberries, one quart vinegar, one quart sugar 
No spice is required; put all together at the same time into your 
kettle and boil ten or fifteen minutes. After standing a few weeks 
they are very nice. 

To Put up Cucumbers ix Bri^te. 
Leave at least an inch of stem to the cucumbers, and wash well in 
feold water. Make a brine of salt and water strong enough to bear 
an egg; put your cucumbers in this as you gather them each day 
from the vines. Cut a board so as to fit inside of your barrel; bore 
holes here and there through it, and put this board on the cucuiii- 
bers with a weight sufficient to keep it down. Each day take off 
the scum that rises. When wanted for use, take out what is 
necessary and soak them two or three days, or until the salt is out 

13 



194 PICKLES. 

of them, and then pour boiling spiced vinegar over them. A red 
pepper or two is an improvement if one likes hot pickles. 

Pickled Cabbage. 
Select solid heads, slice very fine, put in a jar, then cover with 
boiling water; when cold, drain off the water, and season with 
grated horse radish, salt, equal parts of black and red pepper, cinna- 
mon and whole cloves. 

Pickled Cauliflower. 

Choose such as are firm, yet of their full size; cut away all the 
leaves and pare the stalks; pull away the flowers in bunches, steep 
in brine two days, then drain them, wipe them dry, and put them 
in hot pickle, or merely infuse for three days three ounces of curry 
powdei' in every quart of vinegar. 

Pickled Cauliflower, No. 2. 
These should be sliced and salted for two or three days, then 
drained, and spread upon a dry cloth before the fire for twenty- 
four hours; after which they are put into a jar, and covered with 
Diced vinegar. 

Picked Cabbage, No. 2. 

Slice red cabbage very thin; put on it a little coarse salt, and let 
it rest twenty-four hours to drain; add sliced onions, if you like 
them. Boil four spoonfuls pepper, and four of allspice in a quart 
of vinegar, and pour it over. 

Pickled Cucumbers. 
Wash with care your cucumbers, and place in jars. Make a 
weak brine (a handful of salt to a gallon and a half of water). 
When scalding hot, turn over the cucumbers and cover; repeat this 
process three mornings in succession, taking care to skim thor- 
oughly. On the fourth day have ready a porcelain kettle of 
vinegar, to which has been added a piece of alum the size of a 
v^alnut. When scalding hot, put in as many cucumbers as may be 
covered with the vinegar; do not let them boil, but skim out as 



PICKLES. 195 

soon as scalded through, and replace with others, adding ov/a iJrae 
a small piece of alum. When this process is through, fhrow out 
the vinegar, and replace with good cider or white wine vinegar; add 
spices, mustard seed and red pepper. Sort the pickles and place 
them in stone or glass jars, turn over the hot spiced vinegar; seaS 
and put away the jars not wanted for immediate use. Pickles thus 
prepared are fine and crisp at the expiration of a year. Those that 
are kept in open mouth jars may be covered with a cloth, whicb 
will need to be taken off and rinsed occasionally. 

Chow-Chow. 

Two quarts of tomatoes, two white onions, half-dozen green pep- 
pers, one dozen cucumbers, two heads of cabbage, all chojiped fine; 
let this stand over night; sprinkle a cup of salt in it. In the morn- 
ing drain off the brine, and season with one tablespoonful of celery 
seed, one ounce of turmeric, half teaspoonful of cayenne pepper, 
one cup of brown sugar, one ounce of cinnamon, one ounce of all- 
spice, one ounce of black pepper, one-quarter ounce cloves, vinegar 
•enough to cover, and boil two houi-s. 

Chow-Ciiow, No. 2. 

Two heads of cabbage, two heads of cauliflower, one dozen 
cucumbers, six roots of celery, six peppers, one quart of small white 
onions, two quarts of green tomatoes; cut into small pieces and boil 
€ach vegetable separately until tender, then strain them. Two 
gallons of vinegar, one-fourth pound of mustard, one-fourth pound 
of mustard seed, one pot of French mustard, one ounce of cloves, 
two ounces of turmeric; put the vinegar and spices into a kettle 
and let them come to a boil; mix the vegetables and pour over the 
dressing. 

Pickled Cherries. 

Take the largest and ripest red cherries, remove the stems, have 
ready a large glass jar, fill it two-thirds full with cherries, and fill 
up to the top with best vinegar; keep it well covered and no boil- 



196 PICKLES. 

ing or spice is necessary, as the cherry flavor will he retained, and 
the cherries will not shrivel. 

French Pickles. 
One peck of green tomatoes, sliced, six large onions, sliced; 
sprinkle over tiieni one cup of salt; let them stand over night; in 
the morning drain and boil for fifteen minutes in two parts water 
and one part vinegar; drain again; take two quarts vinegar, ®ne 
pound sugar, one tablespoonful each of cloves, cinnamon and all- 
spice; boil together for fifteen minutes and pour over the pickles. 

Pickled Grapes. 
Fill a jar with alternate layers of sugar and bunches of nice 
grapes, not too ripe; fill one-third full of good, cold vinegar and 
cover tightly. 

Pickled Grapes, No. 2. 
When grapes are not quite ripe, but dark colored, pick from the 
stem and wash; put in bottles; in a dish put sugar and vinegar, 
and boil a few minutes; add spices to taste; boil a few minutes, 
pour over the grapes and seal up the bottles. 

To Harden Pickles. 
After they are taken out of the brine take a lump of alum and a 
horse-radish cut in strips; put this in the vinegar, and it Avill make 
them hard and crisp. When you wish to make a few cucumber 
pickles quick, take good cider vinegar; heat it boiling hot and pour 
it over them. When cool, they are ready for use. 

Lemon Pickles. 
Wipe six lemons, cut each into eight pieces; put on them a pounCi 
of salt, six large cloves of garlic, two ounces of horse-radish, sliceCi 
thin, likewise of cloves, mace, nutmeg, and Cayenne, a quarter of an 
ounce each, and two ounces of flour of mustard; to these put two 
quarts of vinegar. Boil a quarter of an hour in a well-tinned sauce- 
pan; or, which is better, do it in a strong jar, in a kettle of boiling 



PICKLES. 197 

water; or set the jar on the hot hearth till done. Set the jar by, 

and stir it daily for six weeks; keep the jar close covered. Put it 

into small bottles. 

Mangoes of Melons. 

Take green melons and make a brine strong enough to bear up 
an egg; then pour it boiling hot on the melons, keeping them under 
the brine; let them stand five or six days, slit them down on one 
side, take out all the seeds, scrape them well in the inside, and wash 
them clean; then take cloves, garlic, ginger, nutmeg and pepper; 
put all these proportionately into the melons, filling them up with 
mustard seed; then lay them into an earthern pot, and take one 
part of mustard seed and two parts of vinegar, enough to cover 
them, pouring it on scalding hot. Keep them closely covered. 

Imitation Pickled Mangoes. 
Large cucumbers, or small melons, are split so that a marrow- 
spoon may be introduced, and the seeds scooped out; they are then 
parboiled in brine strong enough to float an egg, dried on a cloth 
before the fire, filled with mustard seed and a clove of garlic, and 
then covered with spiced vinegar. Real mangoes are pickled in the 
same way. 

Pickled Nasturtiums. 

Soak for three days in strong salt and water; then strain and 
pour boiling vinegar over them, omitting the spice. Vinegar for 
any pickle should never be allowed to boil over one minute. 

Pickled Onions. 

Small silver-skinned onions; remove outer skin so that each one 

is white and clean; put them into brine that will float an egg for 

three days; bring vinegar to a boiling point, add a little mace and 

whole red peppers and pour hot over the onions, well di'ained from 

the brine. 

Pickled Onions, No. 2. 

Peel the onions and let them lie in strong salt and water nine 
days, changing the water each day; then put them into jars and 



198 PICKLEB. 

pour fresh salt and water on them, this time boiling hot; when it is 
cold, take them out and put them on a hair sieve to drain, after 
which put them in wide-mouthed bottles and pour over them 
vinegar prepared in the following manner: Take Avhite wine 
vinegar and boil it with a blade of mace, some salt and ginger in it^, 
when cool, pour over the onions. 

Pickles. 
An excellent way to make pickles that will keep a year or more 
is to drop them into boiling hot water, but not boil them; let them 
stay ten minutes, wipe them dry, and drop them into cold, spiced 
vinegar, and they will not need to be put in salt and Avater. 

Stuffed Peppers. 
Chop a large cabljage finely, add one large spoonful grated horse- 
radish root and one ounce of white mustard seed; mix all this well; 
cut pieces out of the stem ends of large green peppers, large as a 
silver dollar; fill with the filling and sew the piece in again with 
cotton thread; then take vinegar enough to cover; spice with 
cloves, mace and allspice, whole; boil, and when nearly cold, pour 
over the peppers; no salt is to be used. Mangoes are pickled and 
stuffed in the same manner. 

Mixed Pickles. 
One quart raw cabbage chopped fine; one quart boiled beets 
chopped fine; two cups of sugar, tablespoonful of salt, one tea- 
spoonful red pepper, one cup of grated horse-radish; cover with 
cold vinegar and keep from the air. 

Mixed Pickles, No. 2. 
Three hundred small cucumbers, four green peppers sliced fine, 
two large or three small heads cauliflower, three heads of white 
cabbage sliced fine, nine large onions sliced, one large horse-radish, 
one quart green beans cut one inch long, one quart green tomatoes 
sliced; put this mixture in a pretty strong brine twenty-four hours; 
drain three hours; then sprinkle in one-fourth pound black and 



PICKLES. 199 

one-fourth pound of white mustard seed; also one tablespoonful 
black ground pepper; let it come to a good boil in just vinegar 
enough to cover it, adding a little alum; drain again and when 
cold put in one-half \nnt ground mustard; cover the whole with 
good cider vinegar; add turmeric enough to color if you like. 

India Pickles. 
Take three quarts of vinegar, quarter pound mustard, half 
ounce of black pepper, one ounce cloves, one ounce allspice, one 
ounce turmeric, one ounce ginger, one ounce Cayenne pepper, hand- 
ful of salt and the same of sugar; boil for twenty minutes. When 
cold put in the vegetables, cucumbers, onions, cauliflower cut up 
small, and cover closely. If the liquid should seem thin, boil again 
and add more mustard in three weeks after making. 

Pyper Pickles. 
Salt pickles down dry for ten days, soak in fresh water one day; 
pour off water, place in porcelain kettle, cover with water and 
vinegar and add one teaspoonful pulverized alum; set over night 
on a stove which had fire in it during the day; wash and put in a 
jar with cloves, allspice, pepper, horse-radish, onions or garlic; boil 
fresh vinegar and pour over all. Ready for use in two weeks. 

Ragan Pickles. 
Two gallons of cabbage, sliced fine, one gallon of chopped green 
tomatoes, twelve onions, also chopped, one gallon best vinegar, 
one pound of brown sugar, one tablespoonful of black pepper, half 
an ounce of turmeric powder, one ounce celery seed, one table- 
spoonful of ground allspice, one tablespoonful of ground cloves, 
one-quarter pound white mustard, and one gill of salt. Boil 
all together, stirring well, for tAvo liours; take from the fire and 
add the spices, then put in air-tight jars; set in a cool, dry place, 
and this delicious pickle will keep all winter. 

Sweet Pickles. 
To every seven pounds of fruit allow three and one-half pounds 



200 PICKLES. 

of sugar and one pint of cider vinegar, two ounces whole cloves, 
two of stick cinnamon. This is for peaches, pears, apples or musk 
melons. Peaches, pears, and apples should be pared only, not 
divided. Then in each stick two whole cloves. The cinnamon 
should be boiled in the vinegar. Put the prepared fruit into a jar 
and pour the vinegar, scalding hot, over it. Repeat this for three 
mornings. These sweet pickles will be found delicious, and will 
keep any length of time. The melons should be cut in strips as if 
to serve fresh on the table, and should not be too ripe. Simmer 
them thirty minutes slowly in the prepared vinegar, and they will 
need no further attention except to keep them closely covered, and 
they will keep good a year. 

Sweet Apple Pickle. 

Pickled sweet apples can be made by taking three pounds of 
sugar, two quarts of vinegar, one-half ounce of cinnamon, one-half 
ounce of cloves; pare the apples, leaving them whole; boil them in 
part of the vinegar and sugar until you can put a fork through 
them; take them out; heat the remainder of the vinegar and sugar 
and pour over them. Be careful not to boil them too long or they 
will break. 

Sweet Tomato Pickle. 

Seven pounds of ripe tomatoes, peeled and sliced, three and a 
lalf pounds of sugar, one pound of mace and cinnamon mixed, one 
junce of cloves, one quart of vinegar. Mix all together and stew 
an hour. 

Green Tomato Pickles. 

Slice one peck of tomatoes into a jar and sprinkle a little salt 
over each layer; let them stand twenty-four hours, drain off the 
liquor; put the tomatoes into a kettle with a teaspoonful of each 
of the following spices: Ground ginger, allspice, cloves, mace, 
cinnamon, a teaspoonful of scraped horse-radish, twelve small or 
three large red peppers, three onions, a cup of brown sugar; covA* 
all with vinegar; boil slowly for three hours. 



PICKLES. 201 



PiCALILLI. 



One peck green tomatoes, one large cabbage, one dozen onions; 
add half pint salt; after the above have been cho^jped fine let it 
stand over night; in the morning drain off the brine and scald in 
weak vinegar; drain I'us off and stir in ground spices to suit the 
taste; add six i-ed peppers and a little horse-radish root; pack in a 
crock and cover with strong vinegar; a few small cucumbers put 
in whole are quite an addition. 

PiCKLETTE. 

Four large crisp cabbages chopped fine, one quart of onions 
chopped fine, two quarts of vinegar, or enough to cover the cabbage, 
two tablespoonf uls each of ground mustard, black pepper, cinnamon, 
turmeric, celeiy seed, and one of allspice, pulverized alum and mace. 
Pack the onions and cabbage in alternate layers with a little salt 
between them. Let them stand until next day. Then scald the 
vinegar, sugar and spices together and pour over the cabbage and 
onions. Do this three mornings in succession. On the fourth put 
all together over the fire and heat to a boil; let them boil five 
minutes. When cold pack in small jars. It is fit for use as soon as 
cold and will keep well. 

Spiced Vinegar for Pickles Generally. 

Bruise in a mortar two ounces black pepper, one ounce ginger, 
one-half ounce allspice, and one ounce salt. If a hotter pickle is 
desired, add one-half drachm Cayenne, or a few capsicums. For 
Avalnuts add also one ounce shallots. Put these in a stone jar, with 
a quart of vinegar, and cover them with a bladder wetted with the 
pickle, and over this a piece of leather. Set the jar near the fire 
for three days, shaking it three time a day; then pour it on the 
walnuts or other vegetables. For walnuts it is used hot; for 
cabbage, etc., cold. 

Pickled Peaches. 

To fourteen pounds of peaches peeled, put three pounds of browp 



a.<2 PICKLES. 

sujar, throe tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, same of powdered cloves, 
to one quart of strong cider vinegar. Let the vinegar, sugar, 
and spices boil a very little while; then put in your peaches and let 
them scald enough to stick a straw through them with ease. Take 
them out and put them in an earthen jar, seeing that the vinegar 
covers them well, which must be poured over the packed peaches. 
Put a cover over them lightly the first day; the second pour off the 
vinegar, heat and pour it boiling hot over the fruit. Repeat till 
the fruit is ready for use. Four or five times heating will generally 
cure them. Watch closely and if any fermentation occurs pour off 
the vinegar and scald it, skimming off any scum that arises. 

Pickled Peaches that will Keep. 
Four pounds sugar, one pint vinegar, to twelve pounds of fruit; 
put sugar and vinegar together and boil; then add the fruit and let 
it come to a boil; the next day drain off the liquor and boil again; 
do this three times and your pickles are delicious; add cinnamon to 
the liquor and stick two or three cloves in each jseach. 

To Pickle Plums. 
For eight pounds of fruit take four pounds of sugar, two quarts 
of vinegar, one ounce cinnamon, and one ounce cloves; boil the 
vinegar, sugar, and spices together; skim, and pour scalding hot 
over your fruit; let it set three days, pour off the syrup, scald and 
skim and pour over again, and continue this process every three 
days till you have scalded it three times, after which it will be fit 
for use. Plums prepared in this way we think superior to the old 
method of preserving with sugar alone. 

Geeex Tomato Soy. 
Two gallons of green tomatoes sliced without peeling; slice also 
twelve good sized onions; two quarts of vinegar, one quart of sugar, 
two tablespoonfuls each of salt, ground mustard, and ground black 
pepper, one tablespoonful of cloves and allspice. Mix all together 
and stew until tender, stirring often lest they should scorch. Put 
up in small glass jars. A good sauce for all kinds of meat or fish. 



PICKLES. , 203 

To Keep Tomatoes Whole. 
Fill a large stone jar with ripe tomatoes, then add a few whole 
cloves and a little sugar; cover them well with one-half cold 
vinegar and half water; place a piece of flannel over the jar well 
down in the vinegar, then tie doAvn with paper. In this way toma- 
toes can be kept a year. Should mildew collect on the flannel it 
will not hurt them in the least. 

Pickled Tomatoes. 
Let the tomatoes be thoroughly ripe and let them lie in strong 
salt and water for three or four days; then put them down in 
layers in jars, mixing with them small onions and pieces of horse- 
radish; then pour on vinegar, cold, after having spiced it. Use 
plenty of spice, cover carefully, and let stand for a month before 
using. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

PRESERVES. 

Preserved Apples for Tea. 
Ali."^ a ni«e syrup of sugar and water, and put in some small 
pieces of ginger root or the yellow of orange peel; have 
some good firm apples pared and halved — pippins are best — 
and when the syrup has boiled up three or four times and been 
skimmed, drop in the apples and cook until transparent, but they 
must not go to pieces. Let them be quite cold before eaten, and 
good cream greatly improves it. 

Apple Preserves. 
Take three-fourths pound of sugar to each pound of apples; make 
a syrup of the sugar and water, and a little lemon juice or sliced 
lemon; skim off all scum and put a few apples at a time into the 
syrup and boil uniil they are transparent; skim out and put in a 
jar. When all are done, boil the syrup down thick; pour boiling 
hot over the apples and cover closely. Well-flavored fruit not 
easily broken should be selected. 

Apricot Preserves. 
Proceed the same as for preserving peaches, save that apricots, 
having a smooth, thin skin, do not require paring. 

Citron Preserves. 
Pare and take out the seeds and cut them in pieces one inch thick 
and two inches in length; weigh them and put into a preserving 
kettle and cook them until they are clear, or steam them, then 

304 



PRESERVES. 205 

make a syrup of their weight in sugar with water and add two 
sliced lemons for each pound of fruit; put the citron into the syrup, a 
part at a time, and boil about fifteen minutes; skim out and put into 
a jar. When all has been thus cooked, boil the syrup down thick, 
and pour over it. Cover closely with paper which the air cannot 
penetrate, or use air-tight jars. 

CiTEON Preserves, No. 2. 
First, peel and cut the citron in pieces an inch square; then boil 
in water until soft; drain off the water and add one pound of sugar 
to each pound of citron; to every five pounds of the preserve add 
one pound of raisins, one lemon sliced, half an ounce of white 
cloves, one ounce of stick cinnamon; dissolve the sugar, and when 
hot, add the fruit and simmer slowly for two hours. 

Currant Freserve«. 
Take ten pounds of currants and seven pounds of sugar; pick the 
stems from seven pounds of the currants and press the juice from 
the other three pounds; when the juice and sugar are made into a 
hot syrup, put in the currants and boil until thick and rich, 

Braxdied Cherries or Berries. 
Make a syrup of a pound of sugar and a half gill of water for 
every two pounds of fruit. Heat to boiling, stirring to prevent 
burning, and pour over the fruit while warm — not hot. Let them 
stand together an hour; put all into a preserving kettle, and heat 
slowly; boil five minutes, take out the fruit with a perforated skim- 
mer, and boil the syrup twenty minutes. Add a pint of brandy for 
every five pounds of fruit; pour over the berries hot, and seal. 

Lemox Preserves. 
One pound of pounded loaf sugar, quarter pound of butter, six 
eggs and the whites of four, well beaten, the rind of two lemons, 
grated, and the juice of three. Mix together and let it simmer till 
of the consistency of honey. Be careful to stir all the time or it 
will burn. 



206 PRESERVES. 

Preserved Oranges. 
Take any number of oranges, with rather more than their weight 
in white sugar. Slightly grate the oranges and score them round 
and round with a knife, but do not cut very deej). Put them in 
cold water for three days, changing the water two or three times a 
day. Tie them up in a cloth, boil them until they are soft enough 
for the head of a pin to penetrate the skin. While they are boiling 
place the sugar on the fire, with rather more than half a pint of 
water to each pound; let it boil for a minute or two, then strain it 
through muslin. Put the oranges into the syrup till it jellies and 
is a yellow color. Try the syrup by putting some to cool. It musl 
not be too stiff. The syrup need not cover the oranges, but they 
must be turned, so that each part gets thoroughly done. 

Preserved Pine-Apple. 

Pare, cut into slices, take out the core of each one, and weigh, 
allowing pound for pound of sugar and fruit. Put in alternate 
layers in the kettle and pour in water, allowing a cup to each pound 
of sugar. Heat to a boil; take out the pine-apple and spread upon 
dishes in the sun. Boil and skim the syrup half an hour. Return 
the pine-apple to the kettle and boil fifteen minutes. Take it out, 
pack in wide-mouth jars, pour on the scalding syrup; cover to keep 
in the heat, and, when cold, tie up, first putting brandied tissue 
paper upon the top. 

To Preserve Plums or Cherries. 

Make a syrup of clean, brown sugar, and clarify it; when per-, 
fectly clear and boiling hot, pour it over the plums, having picked 
out all the unsound ones and stems. Let them remain in the syrup 
two days, then drain it off; make it boiling hot, skim it, and pour 
it over again ; let them remain another day or two, then put them 
into a preserving kettle over the fire, and simmer gently until the 
syrup is reduced, and thick or rich. One pound of sugar to each 
pound of plums. Small damsons are very fine preserved, as are 



PRESERVES. 207 

cherries, or any other ripe fruit. Clarify the syrup, and when 
boiling hot, put in the plums; let them boil very gently until they 
are cooked, and the syrup rich. Put them in pots or jars the next 
day; secure as directed. 

Purple Plums Preserved. 
Take an equal weight of fruit and nice sugar. Take a clean 
stone jar and fill it with the fruit and sugar in layers. Cover them 
and set the jar in a kettle of water over the fire. Let them stand 
in the boiling water all day, filling up the kettle as the water boils 
away. If at any time they seem likely to ferment, repeat this pro- 
cess. It is a simple and excellent way of preserving plums. 

To Preserve Pears. 
Pare them very thin, and simmer in a thin syrup; let them lie a 
day or two. Make the syrup richer and simmer again. Repeat 
this till they are clear; then drain and dry them in the sun or a cool 
oven a little time; or they may be kept in the syrup and dried a" 
wanted, which makes them richer. 

Brandy Peaches. 
Drop the peaches in hot water, let them remain till the skin can 
be ripped off; make a thin syrup, and let it cover the fruit; boil 
the fruit till they can be pierced with a straw; take it out, make a 
very rich syrup, and add, after it is taken from the fire, and while 
it is still hot, an equal quantity of brandy. Pour this, while it is 
still warm, over the peaches in the jar. They must be covered 
with it. 

Peach Preserves. 

Take any nice peaches that v,n\l not cook to pieces, pare them 
and take out the pits; take their weight in sugar, or, if they are 
to be canned, three-fourths pound of sugar to each pound of fruit, and 
a coffee-cup of water to each pound of sugar. Boil part of the pits in 
the water until the flavor is extracted, then remove the pits; add" 
about as much water as has evaporated, then add the sugar; skim 



208 PRESERVES. 

thoroughly, then add a small quantity of fruit at a time, cook slowly 
for about ten minutes, skim out into a jar, then add more. When 
all are done, pour the boiling syrup over them. The next day 
drain off the syrup and boil again and pour back; do the same for 
two or three days, then make them air-tight with paper as directed 
for jellies; or, if to be sealed in cans, the first boiling is sufficient. 
Cling stone peaches are preserved the same way, whole, except that 
they must be cooked longer. 

Quince Presekves. 
Pare and core the quinces, and cut into halves or quarters, as suits 
the size of your jars; let them stand over night in enough cold 
water to cover them; in the morning put them in the kettle with 
the same water and let them cook gently until you can just stick a 
fork in them; take the fruit out with a skimmer, weigh it and to each 
pound of fruit allow a pound of sugar; put the fruit and sugar into 
the kettle, with enough of the water to make a good syrup, and let 
them boil gently until they are clear; take out carefully with the 
skimmer and put into the jars; fill the jars to the top with the 
syrup. If there is a large quantity of fruit, and the kettle is not 
large, it is best to put the fruit in the syrup a little at a time. 

Preserving Strawberries. 
Select the largest and finest strawberries. Hull them, weigh and 
allow to each pound one pound of the best double i-efined loaf sugar 
finely powdered. Divide the sugar into two equal portions. Put a 
layer of strawberries into the bottom of a preserving kettle and cover 
them with a layer of sugar, until half the sugar is in; next set the 
kettle over a moderate fire and let it boil till the sugar is melted ; 
then put in, gradually, the remainder of the sugar, and, after it is all 
in, let it boil hard for five minutes, taking off the scum with a silver 
spoon; but there will be little or no scum if the sugar is of the very 
best quality. Afterwards remove the kettle from the fire and take 
out the strawberries very carefully in a spoon. Sjjread out the 
strawberries on large, flat dishes, so as not to touch each other, and 



PRESERVES. 200 

set tlieni immediately in a cold place or on ice. Hang the kettle 
again on the fire, and give the syrup one boil up, skimming it if 
necessary. Place a fine strainer over the top of a mug or pitcher, 
and pour the syrup througli it. Then put the strawberries into 
glass jars or tumblers; pour into each an equal portion of the syrup. 
Lay at the top a round piece of white paper dipped in brandy. 
Seal the jars tightly. 

Raspberries may be j^reserved as above; also large ripe goose- 
berries. To each pound of gooseberries allow one and a half pounds 
sugar. Bury them in a box of sand, or keep in a dark, cool place. 

Green Tomato Preserves. 

Eight pounds small, green tomatoes; pierce each with a fork; 

seven pounds sugar, juice of four lemons, one ounce of ginger and 

mace mixed; heat all together slowly and boil until the fruit is 

clear; remove from kettle with skimmer and spread upon dishes to 

cool; boil the syrup thick; put the fruit in jars and cover with hot 

syrup. 

Ripe Tomato Preserves. 

Seven pounds round yellow or egg tomatoes, peeled, seven 
pounds sugar, juice of three lemons; let them stand together over 
night, drain off the syrup and boil it, skimming well; put in the 
tomatoes, and boil gently twenty minutes; take out the fruit with 
a perforated skimmer and spread upon dishes; boil the syrup down 
until it thickens, adding, just before taking it up, the juice of three 
lemons; put the fruit into the jars and fill up Avith hot syrup. 
When cold, seal up. 

Spiced Currants. 

Four quarts ripe currants, three pounds brown sugar, one pint 
cider vinegar, one tablespoonful each of allspice and cloves, and a 
,ittle- nutmeg and cinnamon. Boil one hour, stirring occasionally. 

Spiced Gooseberries. 
Six quarts of gooseberries, ripe or green, nine pounds of sugar, 
one pint of vinegar (not too strong), one tablespoonful each of 

14 



210 PRESERVES. 

cinnamon, cloves and allspice. Put the berries in the kettle with 
half the sugar and a little water; boil an hour and a half. When 
nearly done, add the rest of the sugar; set it off the fire and add 
the spices and vinegar. 

Spiced Grapes, 

Five pounds of grapes, three of sugar, two teaspoonfuls of cin- 
namon and allspice, half teaspoonful of cloves; pulp grapes; boil 
until tender; cook pulps and strain through a sieve; add to it the 
epices, put in sugar, spices and vinegar to taste; boil thoroughly 
and cool. 

Spiced Nutmeg Melon. 

Select melons not quite ripe; open, scrape out the pulp, peel and 
slice; put the fruit in a stone jar, and, for five pounds of fruit take 
a quart of vinegar and two and a half pounds of sugar; scald vin- 
egar and sugar together, and pour over the fruit; scald the syrup 
and pour over the fruit for eight successive days. On the ninth, 
add one ounce of stick cinnamon, one of whole cloves, and one of 
allspice; scald fruit, vinegar and spices together, and seal up in 
jars. This pickle should stand two or three months before using. 
Blue plums are very nice prepared in this way. 

Spiced Peaches. 
Five pounds peaches, two of brown sugar, one quart vinegar, one 
ounce each of cinnamon, cloves, and mace. Wipe the peaches and 
boil until done in the vinegar and sugar, then take out, put in spices, 
boil well and pour over. 

Spiced Plums. 

Spiced plums are delicious with cold meat. Cook the plums in a 
little water until they are soft; then, so far as possible, remove the 
stones, sweeten and spice to your taste, and boil until thick; put in 
iarge-mouthed bottles and seal, or can in the usual way. 



PRESERVES. 211 

Spiced Plums, No. 2. 
Nine pounds blue plums, six pounds sugar, two quarts vinegar, 
one ounce cinnamon; boil vinegai', sugar and spice together, pour 
over plums, draw off next morning and boil; pour back on plums: 
repeat the boiling five mornings, the last time boiling the fruit about 
twenty minutes. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



VEGETABLES. 

"JTE following excellent remarks on the cooking of vegetables 
are from the pen of Miss Corson: 

SjDinach is an excellent dish when well cooked; take two 
quarts, wash, boil for two minutes in salted boiling water, drain, 
chop and heat in a frying-pan for two minutes wath an ounce each 
of butter and flour; half a pint of meat broth is added, the com- 
pound is stirred and heated for five minutes, and served with 
small pieces of fried bread. Second only to sj^inach are beet 
sprouts ; we all know them boiled, but after they are boiled they gain 
in flavor by being fried for two or three minutes in butter. New 
cabbage scalded for five minutes in fast boiling water, coarsely 
chopped, sprinkled with flour, salt and pepper, and gently stewed 
for five minutes with milk or cream enough to cover it, is good. 
So, too, is red cabbage sliced, thrown for fifteen minutes into 
scalding salted water and vinegar, then drained and fried five 
minutes with butter, and served Avith a little hot meat gravy. Let- 
tuce, which seems devoted to "salad days," is excellent stuffed; it 
is well washed in salted cold water, the roots trimmed off, two 
tablespoonfuls of cooked force-meat of any kind, or chopped cold 
meat highly seasoned, inclosed within the leaves, which ai'e bound 
together with tape or strips of cloth; several heads thus prejsared 
are placed in a saucepan, covered with broth or cold gravy well 
reasoned, and set over the fire to simmer about five minutes; the 
tapes are then removed and the lettuce heads and sauce are served 
hot. A link between cabbage and lettuce are Brussels sprouts^ 

212 



VEGETABLES. 213 

those tender, baby cabbages, which, stewed in cream, or quickly 
fried in butter, almost incline one's thoughts to vegetarianism. 

Beets are familiar enough boiled and sliced, either served hot 
Avith butter, pepper and salt, or pickled, but a novelty is a beet 
pudding, made by mixing a pint of cooked sugar beets, chopped, 
with four eggs, a quart of milk, a little salt and pepper, a table- 
spoonful of butter, and baking them about half an hour. Cold boiled 
beets sliced and fried with butter are palatable; to cook them so 
that none of their color shall be lost, carefully wash them without . 
breaking the skin or cutting off the roots or stalks, and boil them 
until tender, about an hour, in boiling salted water. 

Turnips, either white or yellow, stewed in gravy, are excellent. 
Choose a quart of small, even size; peel them; boil fifteen minutes in 
well salted boiling water; drain them; put them into a frying-pan 
with sufficient butter to prevent burning; brown them; stir in a 
tablespoonful of flour; cover them with hot water; add a palatable 
seasoning of salt and pepper, and stew them gently until tender. 
Or peel and cut them in small regular pieces; brown them over the 
fire with a little butter and a slight sprinkling of sugar; add salt 
and pepper and boiling water enough to cover them, and gently stew 
them until tender; serve them hot. 

Parsnips are not sufficiently appreciated, perhaps because of their 
too sweet taste; but this can be overcome to a palatable extent by 
judicious cookery; they are excellent when sliced, after boiling, and 
warmed in a sauce made by mixing flour, butter and milk, over the 
fire, and seaspning it with salt and pepper; as soon as wai-m they 
are served with a little chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon 
juice. For parsnips fried brown in an old-fashioned iron pot with 
slices of salt pork and a seasoning of salt and pepper, several good 
words might be said. 

Carrots boiled and mashed and warmed with butter, pepper and 
salt deserve to be known; or sliced and quickly browned in butter; 
■or tossed for five minutes over the fire with chopped onion, parsley, 
butter, seasonings and sufficient gravy to moisten them; or boiled, 



214 VEGETABLES. 

quartered, heated with cream, seasoned, and, at the moment of 
serving, thickened with the yolk of eggs. 

Onions are capital when sliced and quickly fried in plenty of 
smoking hot fat, or roasted whole until tender, and served with 
butter, pepper and salt; or chosen while still small, carefully peeled 
without breaking, browned in butter, and then simmered tender with 
just boiling water enough to cover them; or boiled tender in broth 
and then heated live minutes in nicely seasoned cream. 

Oyster plant, scraped under cold Avater, boiled tender in salted 
water containing a trace of vinegar, and then heated with a little 
highly seasoned melted butter, is excellent; the tender leaves which it 
often bears make a nice salad. Somewhat like oyster plant are 
Jerusalem artichokes, which are good and cheap in this market. 
Like oyster plant, they must be peeled under water, boiled tender^ 
and then served with melted butter, or quickly browned in butter, 
either plain or Avith chopped herbs, or served with an acid sauce of 
any kind. 

Celery we know best in its uncooked state, but it is very good 
stewed in any brown or white gravy or sauce, or rolled in fritter 
batter and fried brown. 

Squash and pumpkin are very good either boiled, sliced, and 
broiled or fried, or made into fritters like oyster plant. 

Potatoes, most important of all hardy vegetables. Lives there 
a cook with soul so dead as not to be willing to expend all the 
powers of fire, water and salt to produce mealy potatoes ? If so, 
the writing of her epitaph would be a cheerful task. And if 
cold ones are left they can rehabilitate themselves in favor by 
appearing chopped, moistened with white sauce or cream, and 
either fried in butter or baked quickly, with a covering of 
bread crumbs. Steam-fried, that is sliced raw, put into a covered 
pan over the fire, with butter and seasoning, and kept covered 
until tender, with only enough stirring to prevent burning, they are 
capital. To fry them Lyonnaise style they are cooled in their 
jackets to keep them whole, sliced about a quarter of an inch 



VEGETABLES. 215 

thick, browned in butter with a little sliced onion, sprinkled with 
chopped parsley, pepper and salt, and served hot. Larded, they 
have bits of fat ham or bacon inserted in them, and are baked 
tender. Note well that the more expeditiously a baked potato is 
cooked and eaten the better it will be. 

Boiling is the ordinary mode of cooking vegetables. The rule is 
to throw them (whether the roots, flowers, foliage, or unripe seeds) 
into cold water, after trimming or other preparation; to let them 
lie there, if shriveled or drooping, until they liave recovered their 
natural crispness; then to throw them into soft water, or, if hard 
water, made soft by the addition of a small pinch of carbonate of 
soda; to keep them boiling without the lid (with roots this is imma- 
terial, though it is one means of keeping greens a good color) ; to 
remove all scum as it rises; to cook them enough; and to take them 
up as soon as they are done through, instead of leaving them to 
seethe, and lose their natural juices in the watei*. 

To this there are exceptions. Peas and beans may be thrown 
into cold water when they are dried, but when green are best not 
thrown into cold water; and the former should be boiled in the 
least quantity of water possible. Potatoes require different treat 
ment, according to their kind and the soil' in which they grew 
Very mealy or large potatoes, if thrown into boiling water, Avill fal) 
to pieces outside, while still raw in the center; while small, firm, or 
waxy varieties are best thrown into boiling salt water. If you buy 
of the grower, he will often tell you what treatment suits them. 
At any rate, an experiment both ways will soon settle the difficult)^ 
But the qualities of potatoes vary, not only with soil and kind, 
but also with the period in the season. We have known potatoes, 
waxy and watery when first dug up, become light and floury in 
February and March, after the eyes have sprouted three or four 
inches. The reason is plain: Superabundant moisture had beei; 
drawn off, and the starch, which forms one of its component ele 
ments, had had time to mature itself. 



216 VEGETABLES. 

How TO Cook Potatoes. 
It is well known that a good potato may be spoiled by bad cook- 
ing; and by good management a bad one may be rendered com- 
paratively good. In fact, no vegetable depends more on the cooking 
than a potato. In the first place, if the skin is taken off them 
before boiling, it should not be peeled, but scraped, for the follow- 
ing reasons: If peeled, it is reduced in size considerably; besides, 
the outside removed is the very best pai't of the root. An iron 
saucepan is preferable to a tin one for cooking them, as it prevents 
their boiling so fast; but the best way is, first to wash them very 
clean, then to put them on the fire with just cold Avater enough to 
cover them; when it has begun to boil, throw in a handful of salt, 
and add a pint of cold water, which checks their boiling and gives 
them time to be done through, without allowing them to crack. 
As soon as done, rather under than over, which may be ascertained 
with a fork, pour the water off from them, and replace the pan on 
the fire for a short time, until the remaining moisture is evaporated. 
If not immediately wanted, do not place the lid upon them, or the 
steam will be confined, but cover them with a cloth. New potatoes 
require great caution not to over-boil them, or they will be tasteless 

and watery. 

Artichokes (Jerusalem), Fried. 

Pare and cut the artichokes into slices about an eighth of an inch 
in thickness, and fry them in sufficient boiling oil or lard for them 
to swim in until they are a rich brown. Strew a little salt over 
them, pile high on a dish, and send to the table hot. 

They may also be peeled and cut pear-shaped and stewed in a 
little salt water, to which a little butter has been added, and used 
as a garnish for a dish of mashed potatoes. 

Asparagus, Boiled. 
Choose bunches of asparagus which have been cut fresh and the 
heads straight. If the cut end is brown and dry, and the heads 
bent on one side, the asparagus is stale. It may be kept a day or 



VEGETABLES. 217 

two with the stalks in cold water, but is much better fresh. Scrape 
off the white skin from the lower end, and cut the stalks of equal 
length; let them lie in cold water until it is time to cook them; put 
a handful of salt into a gallon of water, and let it boil; tie the 
asparagus into bundles and put them into it; toast a slice of bi-ead 
brown on each side, dip it in the water, and lay it on a dish. When 
the asparagus is sufficiently cooked, dish it on the toast, leaving the 
white ends outward each way. Serve with melted butter. 

Asparagus, Fricasseed. 
Wash twenty-five heads of asparagus, cut off the tender portion 
and lay them into cold water until they are required. Drain them 
and chop them with a young head of lettuce, half a head of endive 
and a small onion. Put a piece of butter the size of an egg into a 
saucepan, melt it, then mix with it smoothly a dessert-spoonful of 
flour, and half a pint of stock. Add the chopped vegetables, with 
pepper and salt, and let all stew gently until the sauce is thick and 
good. Serve hot. Time to stew, half an hour. 

Egg Broccoli. 

Take half a dozen heads of broccoli, cut off the small shoots or 
blossoms and lay them aside for frying; trim the stalks short and 
pare off the rough rind up to the head; wash them well, and lay 
them in salt water for an hour; then put them into plenty of boil- 
ing water (salted) and let them boil fast till quite tender. Put two 
ounces of butter into a saucepan, and stir it over a slow fire till it is 
melted; then add gradually six or eight well-beaten eggs, and stir 
the mixture until it is thick and smooth. Lay the broccoli in the 
center of a large dish, pour the egg around it, and having fried the 
broccoli blossoms, arrange them in a circle near the edge of the 
dish. 

Beets ajjd Potatoes, 

One of the most delicious ways to serve these early vegetables is 
this: Take new potatoes and young beets, boil until done in sepa- 
rate kettles, then slice into the dish in which they are to be put on 



:;il8 VEGETABLES. 

the table; first put a layer of potatoes, sprinkled with pepper and 
salt and little lumps of butter, then a layer of beets, treated in the 
same way, and so on until the dish is full, then pour over all a very 
little sweet cream or milk. 

Lima Beans. 

Shell, wash, and put into boiling water with a little salt; when 
boiled tender, drain and season them, and either dress with cream 
or large lump of butter, and let simmer for a few moments. 

String Beans. 

Choose fine young beans, and be careful they are the right sort. 
The best kind is the ease-knife, because they have no strings and 
need only to be broken in iavo and not cut. Should these not be 
obtainable take the youngest that can be procured; remove the 
thread or string that runs along the pod, then cut them in a slanting 
direction lengthwise in very thin slices, throw them into boiling 
water well salted, and to preserve their color boil wnthont the lid of 
the saucepan. When tender, drain in a colander, put in a small piece 
of butter and a dash of pepper, and give the whole a shake. This 
dish may be varied in a great many ways and with great success. 
Cold beans, with oil and vinegar, make an excellent and refreshing 
salad. They may also, when cooked and drained, be mixed with 
some good brown gravy, and served alone as a course after the 
meat. 

Brussels Sprouts. 

Pick, trim, and wash a number of sprouts. Put them into plenty 
of fast boiling Avater; add a tablespoonful of salt, keep the sauce- 
pan uncovered and boil very fast for fifteen minutes. Drain as 
soon as done and serve with melted butter. 

Stewed Carrots. 
Scrape and boil whole forty-five minutes. Drain and cut into 
round slices a quarter of an inch thick. Put on a cup of weak 
broth — a little soup if you have it — and cook half an hour. Then 



VEGETABLES. 21?^ 

add three or four tablespoonf uls of niillc, a lump of butter rollod in 
flour, with seasoning to taste. Boil up and disli. 

Celery. 
Wash, trim, and sci'ape the stalks, selecting those that are white 
and tender. Crisp by leaving in ice cold water until they are 
wanted for the table. Arrange neatly in a celery glass. Pas? 
between the oysters and the meat. 

Fried Celery. 
Boil the celery entire until tender; drain it, divide into small 
pieces and fry in dripping until lightly browned. 

Stewed Celery. 

Clean the heads thoroughly. Take off the coarse, green, outer 
leaves. Cut in pmall pieces, ;nd stew in a little broth. When 
tender, add some rich cream, a little flour, and butter enough to 
thicken the cream. »Season with pepper, salt, and a little nutmeg 
if that is agreeable. 

Cream Cabbage. 

Beat together the yolks of two eggs, one-half cup of sugar, one' 
half cup of vinegar, butter size of an egg, salt and a little Cayenne 
pepper. Put the mixture into a saucepan and stir until it boils; 
then stir in one cup of cream; let it boil, and pour over the cabbage 
w^hile hot. 

Cabbage a la Cauliflower. 

Cut the cabbage fine as for slaw; put it into a stewpan, cover 
with Avater and keep closely covered; when tender, drain off the 
water; put in a small piece of butter with a piece of salt, one-half 
a cup of cream, or one cup of milk. Leave on the stove a fe\V 
minutes before serving. 

Boiled Cabbage. 

Cut off the stalk, remove the faded and outer leaves, and halve, 
or, if large, quarter the cabbages; wash them thoroughly and lay 



220 VEGETABLES. 

tlieni for a few minutes in water, to M'liich a tal^lespoonful of vin- 
egar has been added, to draw out any insects that may be lodging 
under the leaves. Drain them in a colander; have ready a large 
pan of boiling hot water, with a tablespoonful of salt and a small 
piece of soda in it, and let the cabbage boil quickly until tender, 
leaving the saucepan uncovered. Take them up as soon as they are 
done, drain them thoroughly and serve. Time to boil: young sum- 
mer cabbages, from ten to fifteen minutes; large cabbages, half an 
hour or more. 

Baked Cabbage. 
Cook as for boiled cabbage, after which drain and set aside until 
cold. Chop fine, add two beaten eggs, a tablespoonful of butter, 
pepper, salt, three tablespoonfuls rich cream; stir well and bake in 
a buttered dish until brown. Eat hot. 

PIoT Slaw. 
One small, firm head of cabbage, shred fine, one cup of "vinegar, 
one tablespoonful of butter, one tablespoonful of sugar, two table- 
spoonfuls of sour cream, one-half teaspoonful of made mustard, one 
saltspoonful of pepper, and the same of salt. Put the vinegar and 
all the other ingredients for the dressing, except the cream, in a 
saucepan and heat to a boil; pour scalding hot over the cabbage; 
return to the saucepan, and stir and toss until all is smoking again; 
take from the fire, stir in the cream, turn into a covered dish and 
set in hot water ten minutes before you send to the table. 

Cauliflower. 
This favorite vegetable should be cut early, while the dew is still 
upon it; choose those that are close and white, and of medium size. 
Whiteness is a sign of quality and freshness. Great care should be 
taken that there are no caterpillars about the stalk, and to insure 
this, lay the vegetable with its head downward in cold salt and 
Avater for an hour before boiling it; or, better still, in cold vinegar 
and water. Trim away the outer leaves, and cut the stalks quite 
close. Cauliflowers are in season from the middle of June till the 
middle of November. 



VEGETABLES. 221 

Cauliflower a la Francaise. 
After preparing as above, cut the cauliflower into quarters and 
put into a stewpan and boil until tender; drain and arrange it 
neatly on a dish. Pour over it melted butter. 

Cauliflower with Stuffixg. 

Take a saucepan the exact size of the dish intended to be used. 
Cleanse a large, firm, white cauliflower and cut it into sprigs; throw 
those into boiling salt water for two minutes; then take them out^ 
drain, and pack them tightly with the heads downwards, in the 
saucepan, the bottom of which must have been previously covered 
with thin slices of bacon; fill up the vacant spaces with a stufiing 
made of three tablespoonfuls of finely minced veal, the same of 
beef suet, four tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, a little pepper and 
salt, a teaspoonful of chopped parsley, a teaspoonful of minced 
chives, and a dozen small mushrooms, chopped fine. Strew these 
ingredients over the cauliflowers in alternate layers, and pour over 
them three well-beaten eggs. When these are well soaked, add 
suflficient nicely-flavored stock to cover the whole; simmer gently 
till the cauliflower are tnder, and the sauce very much reduced; 
then turn the contents of the saucepan upside down on a hot dish^ 
and the cauliflowers will be found standing in a savory mixture. 
Cauliflower with Sauce. 

Boil a large cauliflower — tied in netting — in hot salted water, 
from twenty-five to thii'ty minutes; drain, serve in a deep dish 
with the flower upwards and pour over it a cup of drawn butter in 
Jwhich has been stirred the juice of a lemon and a half teaspoonful 
of French mustard, mixed up v/ell with the sauce. 
Corn, for WrjrrER Use. 

Cut the corn from the cob (raw) befoi'e it gets too hard; to each 
gallon of cut corn add two scant cups of salt, pack tightly in a jar 
(don't be afraid of getting the jar too large), cover Avith a white 
cloth, put a heavy Aveight to keep the corn under the brine which 



222 VEGETABLES. 

soon forms 5 noAV the must imj)ortant part is to wash the cloth every 
morning for two weeks, or the corn will taste queerly. If the corn 
is too salty, freshen before cooking. This is as good as canned 
corn, and is much easier put up. Put tomatoes in jugs and seal 
with good corks and sealing wax; get a large funnel, and you can 
put up as fast and as much as you please. 

Baked Corn. 
Grate one dozen ears sweet corn; one cup milk, small piece but- 
ter; salt, and bake in pudding dish one hour. 

Green Corn on the Cob. 
Take off the outside leaves and the silk, letting the innermost 
leaves remain on until after the corn is boiled, which renders the 
corn much sweeter. Boil for half an hour in plenty of water, drain, 
and, after removing \b.e leaves, serve. 

Corn Oysters. 
Eight ears of sweet corn, grated; two cups of milk, three eggs, 
salt and pepper; flour enough to make a batter. Put a tablespoon- 
ful of butter into a frying pan and drop the mixture into the hot 
butter — a spoonful in a place; brown on both sides. Serve hot for 
breakfast or as a side dish for dinner. 

Stewed Corn. 
Stew one quart of canned corn in its own liquor, setting the 
vessel containing it in an outer one of hot water; should the corn 
be dry, add a little cold water; when tender, pour in enough milk 
to cover the corn, bring to a boil, and put in a tablespoonful of 
butter rolled in flour, and salt to taste. Stew gently, stirring well, 
three or four minutes and turn into a deep dish. Keep the vessel 
containing the corn closely covered while it is cooking; the steam 
facilitates the process and preserves the color of the corn. 

Stewed Cucumbers. 
Cut the cucumbers fully half an inch thick right through; put 



VEGETABLES. 223 

them in a saucepan, just covering tlieni Avith hot water, and let tliera 

boil slowly for a quarter of an hour, or until tender, but not so as 

to break them ; then drain them ; you want now a pint of good cream, 

and put your cream, with a teaspoonful of butter, in a saucepan, 

and when it is warm put in the cucumbers; season with a little salt 

and white pepper, cook five minutes, shaking the saucepan all the 

time, and serve hot. It is just as delicate as aspai*agus, and a very 

nice dish indeed. 

Celery. 

This vegetable imj^arts an agreeable and peculiar flavor to soups, 
sauces, etc. It is generally eaten raw, the brittle stalks with salt; 
but there are many ways in which it may be nicely prepared, and 
when cooked it is more digestible and equally palatable. When 
the roots are not to be had, the pounded seed is an excellent sub- 
stitute for flavoring. It is in season from October to February, and 
is better when it has Tjoen touched by the frost. 

Fried Celery. 
Cold boiled celery Avill answer for this purpose. Split the heads 
and dip them into clariLed batter, or dip them into a batter, and 
fry a light brown. GarnisK the dish prettily with parsley. 

Carrots. 
Tliis vegetable should be served with boiled beef. When the 
carrots are young they should be washed and rubbed, not scraped, 
before cooking, then rubbed with a clean, coarse cloth after boiling. 
Young carrots need to be cooked about half an hour, and full grown 
ones from one hour and a half to two hours. They are excellent 
for flavoring, and contain a great amount of nourishment. 

Carrots Boiled, 
Wash and prepare the carrots. Throw them into plenty of 
boiling water with salt. Keep them boiling till tender, and serve 
with melted butter; or they may be boiled with beef and a few 
placed ronnd the dish to garnish, and the rest sent to table in a 
tureen. 



224 VEGETABLES. 

Dandelions. 

Cut off the leaves, pick over carefully, wash thoroughly, put into 
boiling -water and boil a half hour; drain well and put into salted 
boiling water and boil till tender. When done drain in a colander, 
season with butter, salt and pepper; or they may be boiled with 
^alt pork or corned beef, omitting the butter. They are good from 
early spring until they blossom. 

Endive Stewed. 

Strip off the outer green leaves from the heads of endive. Wash 
thoroughly, soak in salted water to dislodge the insects; then drain 
and boil for twenty-live minutes in water salted slightly. Have 
ready a stewpan with an ounce of butter, drain the endive and put 
it into the pan, and add a saltspoonful of salt, pepper, and a gill of 
cream. Serve liot. 

Egg Plant. 

Pare and cut in slices half an inch thick; sprinkle with salt; cover 
and let stand for an hour. Rinse in clear cold water; wipe each 
slice dry; dip first in beaten egg, then in rolled cracker or bread 
crumbs. Season with pepper and salt, and fry brown in butter. 

Egg Plant, No. 2. 

Boil until quite tender, then mash and add bread cruijibs, pepper^ 
ialt, onions and butter or lard; put in a pan and bake until brown. 
You can put in all these things to your own taste, then you can 
boil and mash as before; season with salt and pepper, and add a 
little flour or meal as you like best. Make into little cakes and fry. 
These are nice. They should be picked when full grown, but 
before they are ripe. 

Fricasseed Egg Plant. 

Having peeled and sliced the egg plants, boil them in water with 
a saltspoonful of salt, until they are thoroughly cooked. Drain off 
the water, pour in sufficient milk to oover the slices, and add a few 



VEGETABLES. 225 

bits of butter rolled in flour; let it simmer gently, shaking the pan 
over the fire till the sauce is thick, and stir in the beaten yolks of 
two or three eggs just before it is served. 

Stuffed Egg Plants. 
Halve and parboil. When soft enough to stick with a fork 
remove from the water and let cool. Then cut out the inside, being 
.careful not to break the skin. Next take bread that has been 
previously soaked in water. Squeeze as dry as possible and mix 
with the pulp of the vegetable. Add to that a good sized tomato, 
the juice of an onion, a little parsley and two or three eggs, season 
with pepper and salt, and the filling is ready for use. Before 
putting into the stove sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs. An- 
other and quicker way to make the stuffing is to mix the pulp with 
the juice of an onion, a tomato and a couple of eggs. Thicken with 
boiled rice and season to taste. 

Garlic. 
Garlic requires to be used most judiciously, or it will spoil what- 
ever is cooked with it. If used carefully, however, it will impart a 
most delicious flavor to salads and sauces; but it is so strong that, 
for many dishes, all that is necessaiy is to rub the dish which is to 
be sent to table sharply round with a slice of it; or, better still, to 
rub it on a crust of bread, and put the bread into the soup, etc., for 
a few minutes. A very genei'al prejudice exists against garlicy 
probably on account of its being used in the same way as an onion 
If it is desired to diminish the strength of the flavor, this may b.' 
fdone by boiling the garlic in two or three waters. 

Greens, Stewed. 
Take a bunch of fresh greens, wash in several waters ; drain theia 
well and throw them into plenty of fast boiling w^ater, salted and 
skimmed, and boil them for ten minutes. Take them up, press the 
water from them, and throw them into cold water for half an hour; 
drain them, cover with stock, and add a bunch of herbs, an onion, 

15 



226 VEGETABLES. 

one clove, a slice of fal bacon, and a little pepper and salt. Stew 
very gently until tender. Serve with mutton, lamb, or veal. 

Horse-radish as Garnish. 
Wash and scrub the horse-radish thoroughly; let it lie for an hour 
in cold water; ther- scrape it very finely with a sharp knife; arrange 
it in little bunches around the dish, or, if there is gravy with th© 
meat, put it in a small glass dish near the carver. 

Lettuce. 
There are two ports of lettuces, the cabbage and the cos. They 
>ire chiefly used for salad, but may be also boiled or stewed, and 
«crved as a vegetable. They may be had all the year, but are in 
full season from April to September. 

Lettuce, Stuffed. 

Wash four or five large heads of lettuce; boil them in plenty of 
salt and water for fifteen minutes; throw them at once into cold 
water, and afterwards let them drain. Open them, fill them with 
good veal forcemeat, tie the ends securely, and put them into a 
stewpan with as much good gravy as will cover them, a teaspoonf ul 
of salt, half a teaspoonf ul of pepper, and a teaspoonf ul of vinegar. 
Simmer gently for another fifteen minutes, remove the strings, 
place them on a hot dish, and pour the gravy around them. 

Macaroni. 
Three long stieks of macaroni, broken in small pieces; soak in a 
j'unt of milk two hours; grate bread and dried cheese. Put a layer 
of macaroni in a pudding dish; add pepper, salt and butter; then 
sprinkle the bread and cheese crumbs over it, and so continue until 
the dish is fiW^'l. Bake until brown. 

Macaroni as a Vegetable. 
Simmer one-half pound of macaroni in plenty of water till tender, 
b:?t not broken; strain off the water. Take the yolks of five and 
the whites of two eggs, one-half pint of cream, white meat and ham 



VEGETABLES. 227 

chopped very fine, three spoonfuls of grated cheese; season with 

salt and pepper; heat all together, stirring constantly. Mix with 

the macaroni; put into a buttered mold and steam one hour. 

Macaroni with Oysteks. 

Boil macaroni in salt water, after which draw through a colander; 

take a deep earthen dish or tin; put in alternate layers of macaroni 

and oysters; sprinkle the layers of macaroni with grated cheese, 

bake until brown. 

Macaroni with Tomatoes. 

Boil one-half pound of macaroni till tender, pour off all the 
water, then add one-half cup sweet cream, one-third of a cup of 
butter, pepper and salt; let simmer for a short time, but be careful 
that it does not become much broken; turn into vegetable dish; 
have ready one pint stewed tomatoes, season with butter, salt and 
pepper, pour over the macaroni. 

Stewed Macaroni. 

Boil two ounces of macaroni in water, and drain well; put into a 
saucepan one ounce of butter, mix with one tablespoonful of flour, 
moisten with four tablespoonf uls of veal or beef stock, one gill of 
cream, salt and Avhite pepper to taste; put in the macaroni, let it 
boil up, and serve while hot. 

Boiled Onions. 

Skin them thoroughly. Put them to boil; when they have boiled 
a few minutes, pour off the water and add clean cold water, and set 
them to boil again. Pour this away, and add more cold water, 
when they may boil till done. This will make them white and 
clear, and very mild in flavor. After they are done, pour off all the 
water, and dress with a little cream; salt and pepper to taste. 

Boil in two waters, drain, and if they are large, cut into quarters 
and pour over them a cup of scalding milk in which a pinch of soda 
has been stirred; set over the fire, add a tablespoonful of butter, 
half teaspoonful corn starch wet with milk, a little minced parsley, 
Avith pepper and salt. Simmer and pour out 



228 VEGETABLES. 

Boiled Okra. 
Put the younc>- and tender pods of long, white okra into salted 
boiling water in a porcelain or tin-lined saucepan (as iron discolors 
it), boil fifteen minutes, take off stems, and serve with butter, 
pepper, salt and vinegar if preferred; or, after boiling, slice in 
rings, season with butter, dip in batter and fry; season and serve; 
or stew an equal quantity of tomatoes and tender sliced okra, and 
one or two sliced green peppers; stew in porcelain kettle fifteen 
or twenty minutes, season with butter, pepper and salt and serve. 

Onion Oemoloo. 
Peel ten or twelve large white onions, steep them an hour in cold 
water, then boil them soft. Mash them with an equal quantity of 
boiled white potatoes, adding half a pint of milk and two or three 
well-beaten eggs. Stir the mixture very hard, season it with 
nutmeg, pepper and salt, and bake it in a quick oven; when half 
done pour a little melted butter or gravy over the top. 

Scalloped Onions, 

Boil till tender six large onions; afterward separate theiri with a 
large spoon ; then place a layer of onion and a layer of grated bread 
crumbs alternately in a pudding dish ; season with pepper and salt 
to taste; moisten with milk; put into the oven to brown. 

Wash but do not peel the onions; boil one hour in boiling water 
slightly salt, changing the water twice in the time; when tender, 
drain on a cloth, and roll each in buttered tissue paper, twisted at 
the top, and bake an hour in a slow oven. Peel and brown them ; 
serve with melted butter. 

Vegetable Oyster. 
One bunch of oysters; boil and mash. One pint sour milk, half 
a teaspoonful soda; flour to make a batter; add two eggs, beaten, 
and the oysters. Fry in hot lard — drop in spoonfuls. 



VEGETABLES. 229 

Mock Stewed Oysters. 
One bunch oyster plant, eight teaspocafuls butter, a little flour 
•or corn starch, vinegar and water for boiling, pepper and salt, one- 
half cup milk. Wash and scrape the oyster plant very carefully; drop 
into weak vinegar and water, bring quickly to a boil, and cook ten 
minutes; turn off the vinegar water; rinse the salsify in boiling 
water; throw this out and cover with more from the tea-kettle; stew 
gently ten minutes longer; add pepper and salt and two tablespoon- 
fuls of butter; stew in this until tender. Meanwhile heat in a 
farina kettle the milk, thicken, add the remaining butter, and keep 
dry until the salsify is done, then transfer it to this sauce; pepper 
and salt; let all lie together in the inner kettle, the water in the 
outer at a slow boil, for five minutes; pour into a covered dish. 

Parsley. 

The foliage of parsley is of use in flavoring soups, etc.; it is 
nutritious and stimulating. 

Crisp Parsleys 
This is used for garnishing dishes. Pick and wash young parsley, 
shake it in a cloth to dry it thoroughly, and spread it on a sheet of 
clean paper and put in the oven. Turn the bunches frequently 
until they are quite crisp. Parsley is much more easily crisped 
than fried. 

Parsley, Fried, 

Wash and dry the parsley thoroughly; put it into hot fat and let 

it remain until it is crisp; take it out immediately and drain it in a 

colander. If the parsley is allowed to remain in the fat one moment 

after it is crisp it will be spoiled. Parsley is best fried in a frying 

basket. 

Parsnips. 

Parsnips may be dressed in the same way as carrots, which they 
very much resemble. When boiled, they are generally served with 
boiled meat, or boiled salt fish; when fried, with roast mutton. If 



280 VEGETABLES. 

young, they require only to be washed and scraped before they are 
boiled. If old and large, the skin must be pared off, and the roots 
cut into quarters. Carrots and parsnips are often sent to the table 
together It should be remembered that parsnips are more quickly 
boiled than carrots. 

Fried Parsnips. 

Boil until tender in hot water slightly salted ; let them get almost 
cold, scrape off the skin, and cut in thick, long slices; dredge with 
flour and fry in hot dripping, turning as they brown; drain very dry 
in a hot colander; pepper and salt to serve. 

Parsnip Stew. 
Three slices of salt pork, boil one hour and a half; scrape five 
large parsnips, cut in quarters lengthwise, add to the pork and let 
boil one-half hour, then add a few potatoes, and let all boil together 
until the potatoes are soft; the fluid in the kettle should be about 
a cupful when ready to take off. 

Canned Pease. 
Open a can of pease an hour before cooking them, that there may 
be no musty, airless taste about thera, and turn into a bowl. When 
ready for them, put on a farina-kettle — or one saucepan within 
another — of hot water. If dry, add cold water to cover them, and 
stew about twenty-five minutes; drain, stir in a generous lump of 
butter; pepper and salt. 

French Way of Cooking Pease. 
Put your pease in a nice dish, where they will not turn black in 
cooking. Cut up fine one small head of lettuce; put in a few sprigs 
of parsley, tied up; salt and pepper; enough of water to cover the 
pease. Cook gently until tender, one and three-quarters of an hour, 
then drain off most of the water; dissolve one full teaspoonful of 
flour in water and stir in; add one-half tablespoonful of butter, 
one-half cup of sweet milk and one lump of sugar; cook about ten 
minutes; just before serving stir in one yolk of an egg, previously 
beaten with a little water. 



VEGETABLES. 231 

No. 2. — Put some thin slices of bacon in a skillet and brown a 
little on both sides; then put in your pease, with one large onion cut 
in four, one head of lettuce, and a few sprigs of parsley, tied up, 
water enough to cover them; salt and pepper (not much salt, as the 
bacon salts them); cook one hour. Ten minutes before serving 
sprinkle a little flour to thicken the gravy. Remove the bunch of 
lettuce and parsley. 

Green Pease. 

Boil a quart of young, freshly-gathered pease in slightly salted 
water until they are tender; then drain them in a colander. Mell 
two ounces of fresh butter over the fire, mix smoothly with a dessert- 
spoonful of flour, and add very gradually a cup of thick cream, 
or, failing this, use new milk. When the sauce boils, put in the 
pease, stir them until they are quite hot, and serve immediately. 

Potato Balls. 
Bake the potatoes, mash them very nicely, make them into balls, 
rub them over with the yolk of an egg, and put them in the oven 
or before the fire to brown. These balls may be varied by the 
introduction of a third portion of grated ham or tongue. 

Browned Potatoes. 
While the meat is roasting, and an hour before it is served, boil 
the potatoes and take off their skins; flour them well, and put them 
under the meat, taking care to dry them from the drippings before 
they are sent to the table. Kidney potatoes are best dressed in 
this way. The flouring is very essential. They should always be 
boiled a little before being put into stews, as the first water in 
which they are cooked is thought to be of a poisonous quality. 
Potatoes when boiled, if old, should be peeled and put whole upon 
the gridiron until nicely browned. 

English Potato Balls. 
Boil some potatoes very dry; mash them as smoothly as possible; 
season well with salt and pepper; warm them, with an ounce of 



232 VEGETABLES. 

butter to every pound of potatoes, and a few spoonfuls of goo^ 

cream; let them cool a little, roll them into balls; sprinkle over 

them some crushed vermicelli or macaroni, and fry them a light 

brown. 

Southern Baked Potatoes. 

Parboil, or take the cold ones left over from dinner; place in a 

deep pie pan; between each layer sprinkle sugar; over the top drop 

small drops of butter and more sugar, about one small cup of sugar 

and one spoonful of butter to a plate of potatoes. Then pour over 

all one-half cup of butter and set in oven to bake. The common 

pumpkin is delicious prepared in the same way, using, instead of 

sugar, syrup or molasses. The pumpkin must be thoroughly 

steamed before baking, and requires two hours' baking. Some 

cooks add spice. 

Cream Potatoes. 

Pare and cut the potatoes into small squares or rounds, cook 

twenty minutes in boiling water and a little salt. Turn this off, 

add a cup of milk, and when this bubbles iip a tablespoonful of 

butter, with a teaspoonful of water, wet up with cold milk; also a 

little chopped parsley; simmer five minutes and pour out. 

Potato Croquettes. 
Take six boiled potatoes, pass them through a sieve ; add to them 
three tablespoonfuls of ham grated or minced finely, a little grated 
nutmeg, pepper and salt to taste, and some chopped parsley; work 
into this mixture the yolks of three or four eggs, then fashion it 
into the shape of balls, roll them in bread crumbs, and fry in hot 
lard, and serve with fried parsley. 

Potato Cake. 
Take potatoes, mashed ones are best, but boiled ones can be 
mashed, immediately after dinner, before getting too cold; add 
about an equal amount of flour and a small piece of butter or lard; 
rub thoroughly together, roll out and cut as for biscuit — not too 
thick — and bake in a rather quick oven. When done to a light 
brown, cut open, butter and eat warm. 



VEGETABLES. 233 

Fried Potatoes. 
Take cold boiled potatoes, grate them, make them, into flat cakes, 
and fry them in butter. You may vary these cakes by dipping 
them in the beaten yolk of an egg and rolling thera io bread crumbs, 
frying them in boiling lard. 

Fried Potatoes, No. 2. 

Raw potatoes, peel, cut in rings the thickness of a shilling, or 
cut in one continuous shaving; throw them into cold water until 
you have sufficient; drain on a cloth; fry quickly in plenty of hot 
fat, and with as little color as possible; dry them well from the 
grease, and sprinkle with salt. When nicely done, and piled up 
properly, they make a fine side dish, which is alw.^ys eaten with 
great relish. 

Or cut a potato lengthwise the size and shape of the divisions of 
an orange, trim them neatly and fry them; they are an excellent 
garnish for meat. Cold potatoes may be cut in slices somewhat 
less than an inch thick, and fried in like manner. They can also be 
fried with onions, as an accompaniment to pork chops, sliced cod, 
red herring, or with a rasher of bacon. 

Another nice way is to boil them and let them become cold, then 

cut them into rather thin slices. Put a lump of fresh butter into a 

stewpan, add a little flour, about a teasj^oonf ul for a moderate-sized 

dish; when the flour has boiled a short time in the butter add a 

cup of water and a little cream; boil all together; then put in the 

potatoes covered with chopped parsley, pepper and salt; stew them 

for a few minutes, aniJ then take them from the fire and send to the 

table. 

Mashed Potatoes. 

Steam or boil potatoes until soft, in salted water; pour off the 
water and let them drain perfectly dry; sprinkle with salt and 
mash; have ready some hot milk or cream in which has been melted 
a piece of butter; pour this on to the potatoes, and stir untiJ white 
and very light. 



234 VEGETABLES. 

Potato Surprise. 
Scoop out the inside of a sound potato, leaving the skin attached 
At one side of the hole, as a lid. Mince finely the lean of a juicy 
mutton chop with a little salt and pepper; put it in the potato, 
fasten down the lid, and bake or roast. Before serving (in its skin) 
add a little hot gravy if the mince seems too dry. 

Potato Puff. 
Take two cups of cold mashed potato, and stir into it two table- 
spoonfuls of melted butter, beating to a white cream before adding 
anything else. Then put with this two eggs whipped very light 
and a cup of cream or milk, salting to taste. Beat ail well, pour 
into a deep dish, and bake in a quick oven until it is nicely browned. 

Potato Pie. 
Butter a shallow pie dish rather thickly. Line the edges with a 
good crust, and then fill the pie 
with mashed potatoes, seasoned 
with pepper, salt, and grated nut- 
meg. Lay over them some marrow, 
together with small lumps of but- 
ter, hard-boiled eggs, blanched almonds, sliced dates, sliced lemon and 
candied peel. Cover the dish with pastry, and bake the pie in a 
well-heated oven for half an hour or more, according to the size of 
the pie. 

Puree of Potatoes. 

Mash them and mix while quite hot with some fine white gravy 
drawn from veal, together with butter and cream. The puree 
should be rather thin and seasoned with salt and pepper. 

Potato Loaves. 

These are very nice when eaten with roast beef, and are made of 

mashed potatoes prepared without milk, by mixing them with a 

quantity of very finely-minced raw onions, powdered with pepper 

and salt; then beating up the whole with a little butter to bind it, 




VEGETABLES. 235 

and dividing it into small loaves of a conical form, and placing 
them under the meat to brown; that is, when it is so nearly done as 
to impart some of the gravy along with the fat. 

Saratoga Potatoes. 

Pare and cut into very thin slices four large potatoes (new pota- 
toes are best) ; let stand for a few minutes in cold salt water, then 
take a handful of the potatoes, squeeze the water from them, dry 
in a napkin, and separating the slices, drop into a skillet of boiling 
lard, taking care that they do not stick together; stir till they are 
of a light brown color, take out with a wire spoon, drain well and 
serve immediately. 

Lyonnaise Potatoes, 

Boil the potatoes with their jackets on and allow them to cool in 
order to have them solid. Peel and cut into slices about a quartei 
of an inch thick; slice an ordinary sized onion for half a dozen 
potatoes. As soon as a tablespoonful of butter has melted in the 
pan, and the onion begun to color, put in the slices of potatoes. 
Stir them a little; season with salt and pepper; fry the potatoes 
until they are a golden brown, and then chop up a tablespoonful of 
parsley and sprinkle it over them just before taking them out. 

Old Potatoes. 
These can be made to look like young ones in this way: Wash 
some large ones and cut them into as many small slices as will fill a 
dish; boil them in two or three watei's about three minutes each 
time, the water being put to them cold; then let them steam until 
tender; pour a white sauce over them. Potatoes prepared in this 
way have been mistaken for young ones. 

Tossed Potatoes. 
Boil some potatoes in their skins; peel them and cut into small 
pieces; toss them over the fire in .. mixture of cream, butter rolled 
in flour, pepper and salt, till they are hot and well covered with t^e 
sauce. 



236 VEGETABLES. 

Sweet Potatoes. 

Sweet potatoes require more time to cook than common potatoes. 

To Boil. — Take large, tine potatoes, wash clean, boil with the 
skins on in plenty of water, but without salt. They will take at 
least one hour. Drain off the water and set them for a few minutes 
in a tin pan before the fire, or in the stove, that they may be well 
dried. Peel them before sending them to the table. 

To Fry. — Choose large potatoes, half boil them, and then, hav- 
ing taken off the skins, cut the potatoes into slices and fry in butter, 
or in nice drippings. 

To Bake. — Bake as the common j)otato, except give them a 
longer time. 

Baked Sweet Potatoes. 

Select those which are nearly of a size, not too large; steam them 

until nearly done, and then bake them until they are soft at the 

heart. 

A Farmer's Dainty Dish. 

Peel and slice thin potatoes and onions (five potatoes to one small 
onion); take half a pound of sweet salt pork (in thin slices) to a 
pound of beef, mutton or veal; cut the meat in small pieces; take 
some nice bread dough and shorten a little; line the bottom of the 
stewpan with slices of pork, then a layer of meat, potatoes and 
onions, dust over a little pepper and cover with a layer of crust; 
repeat this until the stewpot is full. The size of the pot will 
depend on the number in the family. Pour in sufficient water to 
cover, and finish with crust. Let it simmer until meat, vegetables, 
etc., are done, but do not let it boil hard. Serve hot. This we are 
assured by one who knows is a dish fit to set before a king. 

Rice as a Vegetable. 

It should first be picked over, washed, and dried. Then put in 

boiling water, and salt and boil twelve minutes. There should be 

plenty of water. At the end of ten or twelve minutes, pour off the 

water, cover up the rice, and set on the back of the stove on a 



VEGETABLES. 237 

brick; let it steam there for fifteen minutes; if it has been in a 
sufficiently hot place to steam it will now be done, and every grain 
will be distinct ; pour off the water, and, for every cup of rice, add 
half a cup of milk and stir. The milk is better warmed before add- 
ing it to the rice. 

Succotash. 

Ten ears gi-een corn, one pint Lima beans; cut the corn from the 
cob, and stew gently with the beans until tender. Use as little 
water as possible. Season with butter, salt and pepper — milk, ii 
you choose. 

Spinach. 

When cooking spinach, substitute a little piece of bacon for th^ 
salt pork usually cooked with it to season it. The nicest way to 
serve it is to put a bit of the bacon in each dish. Hard-boiled 
eggs, sliced when cold, are also liked with the greens. 

Ceeam of Spinach. 

Take the leaves of spinach — no stalks — wash thoroughly; put 
them mto enough salt boiling water to cover them. When boiled 
tender, take them out and put them into cold water to fix the fresh 
green color. Let them remain until cold and then rub them 
through a colander with a potato-masher. The spinach is then 
ready for table use. 

Winter Squash. 

Pare, cut up and cook soft in boiling water and a little salt. 
Drain, mash smooth, pressing out all the water; work in butter, 
pepper and salt, and mound in a deep dish. 

Stuffed Squash. 
Pare a small squash and cut off a slice from the top; extract the 
seeds and lay one hour in salt water; then fill with a good stuffing 
of crumbs, chopped salt pork, parsley, etc., wet with gravy; put on 
the top slice; set the squash in a pudding dish; put a few spoonfuls 
of melted butter and twice as Tauch hot water in the bottom; cover 



238 VEGETABLES. 

the dish veiy closely and set in the oven, two hours or until tender; 
lay within a deep dish and pour the gravy over it. 

Turnips. 
Pare and cut into pieces; put them into boiling water well salted, 
and boil until tender; drain thoroughly, and then mash and add a 
piece of butter, pepper and salt to taste, and a small teaspoonful of 
sugar. Stir until they are thoroughly mixed, and serve hot. 

Mashed Turnips. 
Pare, quarter and cook tenderly in boiling water; a little salL 
Mash and press in a heated colander; work in butter, pepper and 
salt; heap smoothly in a deep dish and put pepper on top. 

Tomatoes a la Cream. 

Pare and slice ripe tomatoes — one quart of fresh ones or a pound 
can; stew until perfectly smooth, season with salt and pepper, and 
add a piece of butter the size of an egg; just before taking from 
the fire, stir in one cup of cream, with a tablespoonful of flour 
stirred smooth in a part of it; do not let it boil after the flour is 
put in. Have ready in a dish pieces of toast; pour the tomatoes 
over this and serve. 

Browned Tomatoes. 

Take large round tomatoes and halve them, place them, the skin 
side down, in a frying-pan in which a very small quantity of butter 
and lard have been previously melted, sprinkle them with salt and 
pepper, and dredge well with flour. Place the pan on a hot part 
of the fire, and let them brown thoroughly; then stir, and let them 
brown again, and so on until they are quite done. They lose their, 
acidity, and their flavor is superior to stewed tomatoes. 

Baked Tomatoes. 
One can of tomatoes, stale bread crumbed fine, one tablespoonful 
of butter, pepper, salt, a little chopped parsley, and white sugar. 
Drain off two-thirds of the liquor from the tomatoes (the rest can 



VEGETABLES, 239 

be saved for to-morrow's soup). Cover the bottom of a bake-dish 
with crumbs; lay the tomatoes evenly upon this bed; season with 
pepper, salt, sugar, and parsley, with bits of butter here and there. 
Strew bread crumbs over all, a thicker layer than at the bottom ; put 
tiny pieces of butter upon this and bake, covered, about thirty-five 
minutes. Take off the cover and brown upon the upper shelf of the 
oven. Do not let it stay there long enough to get dry. 

Baked Tomatoes, No. 2. 
Cut in slices good fresh tomatoes (not too ripe) ; put a layer of 
them in a dish suitable for baking; then a layer of bread crumbs 
over them, salt, pepper, and plenty of butter, another layer of 
tomatoes, and so on until the dish is full. Bake one hour. 

Broiled Tomatoes. 
Cut large tomatoes in two, crosswise; put on gridiron, cut surface 
down; when well seared, turn, and put butter, salt and pepper on, 
and cook with skin-side down until done. 

Fried Tomatoes. 

Cut the tomatoes in slices without skinning; pepper and sa 1; 

them; then sprinkle a little flour over them and fry in butter until 

brown. Put them on a hot platter and pour milk or cream into 

the butter and juice. When boiling hot, pour over the tomatoes 

Scalloped Tomatoes. 
Butter an earthen dish, then put in a layer of fresh tomatoes, 
sliced and peeled, and a few rinds of onion (one large onion for the 
whole dish), then cover with a layer of bread crumbs, with a little 
butter, salt and pepper. Repeat this process until the dish is full 
Bake for an hour in a pretty hot oven. 

Stuffed Tomatoes. 
Choose a dozen large, round tomatoes; cut them off smooth at 
the stem end; take out the seeds and pulp; take a pound of lean 
steak and two slices of bacon ; chop them fine, with the inside of 



240 VEGETABLES. 

the tomatoes; season with a finely-chopped onion, fried, a dessert, 
tipoonful of salt, half a teaspoonful of white pepper, as much 
Cayenne pepper as you can take on the end of a knife and a table- 
spoonful of finely-chopped parsley; add four rolled crackers, and if 
too stiff, thin with stock, water or cold gravy; fill the tomatoes with 
this forcemeat, packing tight; sift cracker crumbs over the top, 
and bake for an hour in a moderate oven. 

French Batter for Frying Vegetables. 
Moisten a little flour with water, and add to it a small quantity 
of salt, a tablespoonful of olive oil, and a spoonful and a half of 
French brandy. Beat up the mixture thoroughly, and, when you 
are ready to use it, beat into it the white of an egg previously 
beaten to a strong froth. This batter may be used for frying 
sweet entremets, in which case sugar must be used instead of salt. 

Rules for Cooking Them. 
Green vegetables should be thoroughly washed in cold water and 
then dropped into water that has been salted and is beginning to 
boil. There should be a tablespoonful of salt to each two quarts of 
water. If the water boils long before the vegetables are put in, it 
has lost all its gases, and the mineral ingredients are deposited on 
the bottom and sides of the kettle, so that the water is flat and 
tasteless, then the vegetables will not look well or have a fine flavor. 
The time for boiling green vegetables depends much upon the age 
and time they have been gathered. The younger and more freshly 
gathered the more quickly they are cooked. Below is a very good 
time-table for cooking vegetables: 

Potatoes boiled, thirty minutes. 

Potatoes baked, forty-five minutes. 

Sweet potatoes boiled, fifty minutes. 

Sweet potatoes baked, sixty minutes. 

Squash boiled, twenty-five minutes. 

Green pease boiled, twenty to forty minutes. 

Shelled beans boiled, sixty minutes. 



VEGETABLES. 241 

String beans boiled, one to two hours. 
Green corn, thirty to sixty minutes. 
Asparagus, fifteen to thirty minutes. 
Spinach, one to two hours. 
Tomatoes, fresh, one hour. 
Tomatoes, canned, thirty minutes. 
Cabbage, forty-five minutes to two hours. 
Cauliflower, one or two hours. 
Dandelions, two or three hours. 
Beet greens, one hour. 
Onions, one or two hours. 
Beets, one to five hours. 
Turnips, white, forty-five to sixty minutes. 
Turnips, yellow, one and a haK to two hours 
Parsnips, one or two hours. 
Carrots, one or two hours. 



16 



CHAPTER XIX. 

FISH. 

f[SH, when considered with reference to the nourishment which 
they contain, appear to rank between animals and vegetables. 
"Jijc) When fish is consumed as the principal article of food, larger 
quantities are required than when meat is used, owing to the smaller 
amount of nourishment that it contains. From this cause, and, also, 
because fish is so much more easily digested than meat, food is 
required much sooner after a meal of fish than when animal food is 
taken. Owing to its greater digestibility than meat, fish is better 
adapted to in valids, more especially as it does not produce f e verish- 
ness like meat diet. 

The most digestible kinds of fish arfe those with white flesh, such 
as the cod, turbot, sole, whiting, haddock and flounder, the flesh of 
all these presenting a whitish appearance. Of the fish just men- 
tioned, the whiting, haddock and flounder are easiest of digestion. 

The flesh of fish when in good condition is always fleshy and 
opaque; when it is of a bluish color, or appears slightly transparent 
after being boiled, it proves either that the fish is out of season, or 
of inferior quality. 

Sometimes fish have been found to exert a poisonous action on 
the system, producing headache, giddiness, and an eruption on the 
skin resembling that produced by being stung with nettles. In 
some cases, even death has been caused by this means. Although 
it may be true in some cases, that the ill effects produced by fish 
may be due to the bad condition of health in which the patient 
happens to be at the time, yet in most cases it can only be attrib- 

242 



FISH. 243 

uted to some poisonous principle developed in the fish. This may- 
be due to their being eaten in a season when the fish is out of health, 
and, therefore, unfit for food, or it may be produced by the poison- 
ous nature of the food on which the fishes lived. 

Oysters, when fresh and in season, are very nutritious; when, 
however, they have a bluish appearance, they are liable to produce 
affections of the bowels. Salmon contains much nourishment, which 
is due to the oily matter which its flesh contains; and for this reason 
this fish is less suited for invalids than the white kind. 

Most kinds of fish lose their flavor soon after being taken from 
the water. The cod and one or two others are exceptions to this 
general rule. Fish are fresh when the eyes are clear, the fins stiff, 
the gills red, and without bad odor. Fresh shad have gills of quite 
a crimson red, bright scales and a firm body; and shad are unfit to 
eat when the gills are a whitish blue and the eyes are sunken. In 
a good salmon, when cut, the flesh should appear quite red, solid 
and flaky. The Dutch and French bleed the cod, which accounts 
for the better quality and whiteness of their codfish. All large 
fish, in fact, should be bled as soon as caught. 

Almost every kind of fish is either boiled, broiled or fried. Any 
small fish of the size of a smelt, or smaller, is better fried than pre- 
pared in any other way. Fish like salmon trout are best when 
baked and some fine sauce poured over them. A cup of diluted 
cream, in which is stirred two tablespoonfuls of melted butter and 
a little chopped parsley, makes an excellent sauce for salmon trout. 

Bass weighing from one-half pound to a pound are best fried; 
those weighing from one to three pounds are best broiled, and 
larger sizes are best when boiled. Very large bass are dry eating. 

They should be thoroughly cleansed, washed, and sprinkled with 
salt. 

Before broiling fish, rub the gridiron with a piece of fat, to pre- 
vent its sticking. Lay the skin side down first. 

The earthy taste often found in fresh-water fish can be removed 
by soaking in salt and water. 



244 FISH 

]Masc kinds of salt fish should be soaked in cold water for twenty- 
four hours — the fleshy side turned down in the water. 

Baked Fish. 

Stuff it with plain dressing; put in a pan with a little water; salt, 
pepper, and butter. Baste while baking. A fish weighing fouf 
pounds will cook in an hour. Garnish with hard-boiled eggs an(i 
parsley, and serve with drawn butter or egg sauce. 

To Boil Fish. 
Sew them in a cloth, and put in cold water, with plenty of salt^. 
Most fish will boil in thirty minutes. 

Boiled Fish. 
For four or five pounds of fish, nearly cover with water, and add 
two heaping tablespoonfuls of salt. Boil thirty minutes and serve 
with drawn butter. 

Baked Black Fish. 

Rub a handful of salt over the surface, to remove the slime pecu- 
liar to the fish. For the stufting, two ounces of beef drippings, two 
tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, and one ounce of salt pork; put 
in a saucepan and fry brown; then add a teaspoonful of chopped 
capers, half a saltspoonful of white pepper, one-half teaspoonful of 
salt, five ounces of bread, and one gill of broth; then stir until 
scalding hot; place inside the fish; cut a quarter of a pound of 
pork in thin slices and lay on either side of the fish, holding in 
place by twine around it — a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper 
completing it for the baking pan. Bake in a hot oven one-half 
hour, and serve on slices of fried bread with a sauce made of stock 
seasoned with one tablespoonful each of walnut and Worcestershire 
sauce, one tablespoonful of chopped capers, and one tablespoonful 
of parsley. 

Brook Trout. 

If small, fry them with salt pork; if large, boil, and serve with 
drawn butter. 



FISH. 245 

Flounders. 
These may be boiled or stewed; but we hold that they never do 
themselves so much credit as when making their appearance really 
well fried. 

Halibut. 

Of all flat fish, a halibut is the largest, measuring sometimes 
about seven feet in length, and weighing from three hundred to 
four hundred pounds. In its proportions, the halibut is rather 
longer than other flat fish. The flesh has not much flavor, but is 
light and wholesome. To boil halibut plain, after scaling the skin 
on both sides, salt it for six hours, and (unless the piece is very 
large) plunge it in boiling water. The time of boiling, of course, 
will depend on the size. Serve, accompanied by white sauce made 
with milk instead of water, liberally dosed with butter and slightly 
seasoned with salt and a small pinch of scraped horse-radish. 
Shrimp or anchovy sauce goes well with it. Where there are the 
means and skill of frying well, halibut, cut into steaks of the proper 
thickness, and so prepared, is both sightly s-.nd palatable garnished 
with fried parsley. Some well-buttered sauce is desirable, to 
obviate its natural dryness. Slices from the middle of a halibut 
may be divided and trussed into convenient sized cutlets, by cutting 
them into equal halves directly through Ihe vertebra. The same 
plan may be adopted with slices from the thick part of other large 
fish (cod, over-sized pike, and salmon), which it is customary to 
dress as steaks. We have never heard or read of halibut being in 
any way served whole. 

Perch, Eels and Small Pike 

Are excellent fried. 

Potted Eels. 

After cleaning your eels and cutting off their heads, cut them 
into pieces about two inches long. Put them into a brown earthen 
pot, to which, if there is not an earthen cover, have a tin one. 
Season them with salt, pepper, allspice, and a few sp'"^g£ of parsley 



246 FISH, 

and thyme. Pour over the eels a little more vinegar and water 
than will cover them; put on the lid and set the pot into a slow 
oven. They should not be too much done. As soon as the flesh 
will come away from the bones they are done enough. Herrings 
may be potted in the same way. 

Collared Eels. 
These, though a little more trouble than potted eels, make a very 
good and handsome dish. For this, the larger the eels the better; 
quite small eels can hardly be collared. Clean the eel, cut off the 
head, open it on the under side the whole of its length, wash it, 
take out the backbone, tearing the flesh as little as possible. Dry 
it by pressing it with a coarse cloth. You will then have a flat 
strip of eel flesh, broad at one end and narrow at the other. Season 
the inner surface of eel by dusting it with salt, pepper, and allspice. 
Then roll it tightly upon itself, as you would a ribbon, beginning 
at the broad end, until you have rolled it into a lump something 
like a short, thick sausage, blunt at both ends; tie it with broad 
tape (not with string, which would cut into the flesh when cooked) 
to keep it from unrolling, and then cook in an earthen pot with a 
lid exactly as you do potted eels. 

Sturgeon. 
There are few people so poor that they will consent to eat stur- 
geon, yet this fish, if properly cooked, affords, it is said, a luxurious 
meal. Get a few slices, moderately thick, put them in a pot or pan 
of water, and parboil them to get rid of the oil; then roll in crumbs 
of cracker and egg, just as you would a veal cutlet, and fry. This 
makes a veal cutlet that beats the original by far, and you are sure 
that it is "full six weeks old," as the butcher always certifies in 
regard to the veal. 

Cods' Head. 

In some places, fishmongers take the heads off their codfish before 
they cut up the rest of the fish to retail it by the pound. In that 
case the heads are sold cheap; and when they can be thus had they 



FISH. 247 

are well Avorth tlie buying. We have enjoyed many a cheap fish 
treat with a dish of cods' heads, Avhich contain several of the tit- 
bits prized by epiciu'es, namely, the tongue, the cheek-pieces, and 
the nape of the neck. After taking out the eyes, wash the heads, 
drain them, and, if you can let them lie all night with a little salt 
sprinkled over them, they will be none the worse for it. Put 
them into a kettle of boiling water and boil from fifteen to twenty 
minutes, according to size. Dish them on a strainer, if you can, 
and help with a spoon. 

For sauce, drawn butter is good. 

For sharp sauce, take a few tablespoonfuls of the cods' heads 
boilings; put them in a saucepan Avith a lump of butter or dripping 
and a tablespoonful of vinegar; thicken with a little flour and keep 
stirring in one direction till they are all raised smooth and come to 
M boil. Both these sauces go well Avnth any boiled fish. To these 
jve Avill add a third Avhich will be found equally simple and good. 

For brown sauce, put a good lump of butter or dripping into a 
?aucepan. Set it on a brisk fire, shake it around now and then, and 
keep it there until it is browned, not burnt. Take it off the fire 
and stir into it a good tablespoonful of vinegar. When they are 
fvell mixed, pour into your sauce-boat and serve. The mixing of 
the vinegar with the hot fat had better be done out of doors, on 
account of the quantity of A^apor that arises when they are put 
together. 

Any meat remaining on the cods' heads after a meal should be 
separated from the skin and bone before it gets cold. This rule 
applies to all other fish. Arrange it neatly on a plate and dust a 
little pepper and drop a little vinegar over it. It will furnish a 
nice little delicacy when cold, or you may warm it up with mashed 
potatoes, adding any sauce that may be left; or, after putting on it 
the cold sauce left, or a little butter, you may cover Avith mashed 
potatoes and sprinkle over it bread crumbs; pour over it beaten 
egg and brown in the oven. 



348 FISH. 

Fresh Codfish. 
Cut it in slices and fry or broil; if fried, roll it first in flour. 

Salt Codfish. 

Pick the fish up fine and let it soak for two hours, then rinse, and 
If fresh enough, cook in a little milk thickened with flour; add two 
tablespoonfuls of butter, and eggs to taste. The eggs may be 
beaten and stirred in, or dropped into boiling water, and then put 
into the codfish gravy whole, or laid on a platter and have the fish 
poured over them. It may also be boiled and served with a gravy 
made of melted butter and flour. 

Scalloped Codfish. 
Oae quart of pickled codfish, one pint of bread crumbs, or rolled 
crackers, one-half pint of cream, four ounces of butter, one tea- 
spoonful of pepper; wash and freshen the fish. When ready, put 
it into a baking dish with the crumbs in alternate layers, with a 
little butter and pepper; have the top layer of crumbs and cover 
with beaten egg, then pour the cream over all and bake half an 
hour. 

Codfish Balls. 

Pick the fish fine, and freshen. Boil potatoes and mash them; 
mix fish and potatoes together while potatoes are hot, taking two- 
thirds potatoes and one-third fish. Put in plenty of butter; make 
into balls, and fry in hot lard. 

Salt Mackerel. 
Soak for a day or two, after taking out of the brine, in cold 
water, or buttermilk; lay in a pan with the flesh side down, and 
change the water occasionally. Just before cooking, lay it into a 
shallow dish and cover with hot milk, which removes the strong 
taste. Take it out of the milk and wipe dry with a napkin. Then 
lay on a gridiron and broil the same as fresh fish and serve with 
sauce with lemon juice. 



FISH. 24P 



Baked Cod. 



When purchasing a foui--pound cod ask your fishdealer to send 
you three or four codfish heads. Rub a little salt on the fish, chop 
the heads into six pieces each, and sprinkle a little salt over thera. 
Place them in the center of the baking-pan (to be used as supj^orts 
for the fish), with two ounces of butter, one carrot, a turnip, a 
potato, and one onion cut into slices, two blades of mace, a tea- 
spoonful of white pepper, one tablespoonful of celery seed, six 
cloves, and a cup of red wine. Set the pan in the oven while you 
prepare the cod. Soak in cold water until soft a sufficiency of 
bread to fill the fish; drain off the water and pound the bread to a 
paste; mix with it two tablespoonfuls of melted butter, two raw 
eggs, a tablespoonful of Worcestershire sauce, with salt and pepper 
to taste. Put this stuffing inside the fish and sew it up; jjlace the 
cod in the pan with two or three pieces of butter on the top, and 
baste it frequently; when it is cooked lay the fish on a hot platter, 
and garnish with fried oysters if convenient. Add t\V'0 tablespoon- 
fuls of prepared flour to the pan, a wineglass of sherry; mix and 
strain the gravy into a sauce-boat. 

Boiled Pike. 

If the fish is sent home split through the underside sew it up. 
Then run a thread through the fish so as to draw it into the shape 
of a letter S. Tie it fast, and then tie it up in a cloth. Not having 
any fish kettle, lower it into the pot of boiling water if it is 
small or a small piece, if a large fish put it into cold water. If a 
large fish is put into hot water the outside cooks first, but in cold 
water it cooks evenly through. While boiling add a tablespoonful 
of salt, a slice of lemon or a half cup of vinegar and a few cloves. 
When done lift the fish from the pot upon a platter, untie the cloth, 
and by gently scraping the skin down the sides, from the top of the 
back, you can take the whole fish from the shell and place upoa a- 
dish for the table. 



250 FISH. 

TUBBOT. 

Take a fine large whitefish, steam until tender; take out the bones 
and sprinkle with pepper and salt. For the dressing heat one quart 
of milk and thicken with a half or two-thirds of a cup of flour. 
When cool add two eggs and a quarter of a pound of butter; put 
in the baking-dish a layer of fish, then a layer of sauce, until full. 
Season with garlic, parsley and thyme. Cover the top with bread 
crumbs and bake three-fourths of an kour. 

To Fey White Fish. 

One of the best ways to fry white fish, or any other fish, is to 
first fry some slices of salt pork, then roll the pieces of fish in fine 
Indian meal, and fry in the pork gravy. About three slices of pork 
for a medium-sized fish. White fish needs less fat than almost any 
other. Fish needs to be cooked a long time and very slowly to 
make it flaky and white. 

Salmon-. 

A delicious way to cook salmon is to boil it and serve with a 
gravy made of butter, flour, pepper, salt, and plenty of oysters. 
Cook the oysters in a very little water, the" stir into the sauce. 
You may prepare canned salmon in this way. 



CHAPTER XX. 



SHELL FISH. 

Clams. 
(0 judge whether clams and oysters are fresh insert a knife, and 
if the shell instantly closes firmly on the knife the oysters 
are fresh. If it shuts slowly and faintly or not at all they 
are dying or dead. When the shells of raw oysters are found 
gaping open they are not good. 

Clam Bake. 

Lay the clams on a rock, edge downward, forming a circle; cover 
them with fine brush, cover the brush with dry sage, cover the 
sage with larger brush; set the whole on fire, and when the brush 
and sage are a little more than half burnt look at the clams by 
pulling some out, and if done enough brush the fire, cinders, etc., 
off; mix some tomato or cauliflower sauce or catsup with the clams 
after being taken out of their shells; add butter and spices to taste 
and serve. 

Clam Cho^vder. 

Put in a pot some small slices of fat salt pork, enough to line 
the bottom of it; on that a layer of potatoes cut in small pieces; 
on the potatoes a layer of chopped onions; on the onions a layer of 
tomatoes in slices, or canned tomatoes; on these a layer of clams, 
whole or chopped (they are generally chopped), then a layer of 
crackers. Season with salt and pepper, and other spices if desired. 
Then repeat this process, layer after layer, in above order, seasoning 
each, until the pot is full. When the whole is in, cover with waten 

25i 



^52 SHELL FISH. 

set on a slow fire, and when nearly done stir gently, finish cooking 
-and serve. 

When done, if found too thin, boil a little longer; if found too 
thick, add a little water, give one boil and serve. Fish Chowder 
is made exactly like clam chowder, except that fish are used instead 
of clams. 

Clam Fritters. 

Twelve clams, minced fine, one pint of milk, three eggs; add the 
liquor from the clams to the milk; beat up the eggs and add to this, 
with salt and pepper and flour enough for a thin batter; lastly add 
the chopped clams. Fry in hot lard, trying a little first to see if 
fat and batter are right. A tablespoonful makes a fritter of 
moderate size. Fry quickly and serve hot. 

Fried Clams. 
Take large soft-shell clams, dry them in a napkin, and dip them 
first in beaten egg and then powdered cracker or bread crumbs, and 
fry in sweet lard or butter or both mixed. 

Clam Pie. 
, Take a quantity of clams, if large chop them, put in a saucepan 
and cook in their own liquor, or, if necessary, add a little water; 
boil three or four medium-sized potatoes until done, then cut in 
slices; line a pudding-dish half way up its sides; turn a small teacup 
bottom up in the middle of the dish to keep up the top crust, put 
in first a layer of clams and then a few potatoes, season with bits 
of butter and a little salt and pepper and dredge with flour; add 
another layer of clams, and so on till the dish is filled; add the 
liquor in which the clams were cooked and a little water if neces- 
sary. There should be as much liquid as for chicken or other meat 
pie. Cover with top crust, cut places for steam to escape and bake 
three-fourths of an hour. 

Clam Stew. 
Vut the clams in a stewpan with about the same quantity of 
Wc "G. %s the juice of the clams. Boil twenty-five or thirty minutes; 



SHELL FISH. 253 

remove all the scum that rises, and season with butter, salt and 
pepper. 

Clam Soup. 

Take the required number of clams, chop them fine, then cook in 
a little water with butter, pepper and salt; when almost done put 
in milk or cream, and in soup enough for four persons put one cup 
of rolled crackers. Serve hot. 

Crabs. 

To fit them for the table, living crabs require to be boiled in salt 
water; they are either placed in cold water which is then made 
hot or put at once into boiling water; crabs cooked by the latter 
method are found to have the finest flavor. The male crab is the 
most valuable for the table, and may be distinguished by possessing 
larger claws. In purchasing crabs in the living state preference 
should be given to those which have a rough shell and claws. 
When selecting a crab which has been cooked it should be held by 
its claws and well shaken from side to side. If it is found to rattle, 
or feels as if it contained water, it is a proof that the crab is of 
inferior quality. The crab may be kept alive, out of water, two or 
three days. 

Soft Crabs. 

Many will not eat hard-shell crabs, considering them indigestible, 
and not sufficiently palatable to compensate for the risk they run in 
eating them. And it must be owned that they are, at their best, 
but an indifferent substitute for the more aristocratic lobster. But 
in the morning of life, for him so often renewed, his crabship is a 
different creature, and greatly affected by epicures. 

Do not keep the crabs over night, as the shells hai'den in twenty- 
four hours. Pull off the spongy substance from the sides, and the 
sand-bags. These are the only portions uneatable. Wash well and 
wipe dry. Have ready a pan of seething hot lard or butter and fry 
them to a fine brown. Put a little salt into the lard; the butter 
will need none. Send up hot, garnished with parsley. 



254 SHELL FISH. 

Scalloped Crab. 
Pick out all tlie meat of the crab and mix thoroughly; add to it 
one-third its quantity of bread crumbs, a good lump of butter, 
divided into little bits; season Avith salt and pepper, a dust of 
grated nutmeg and a dessertspoonful of vinegar or lemon juice 
sprinkled over the mass. Mix all equally together. Clean out the 
bottom shell of your crab, and fill it with the mixture; what is left 
you may put into scallop-shells or tins. Set them into a moderately 
hot oven. When hot through and slightly browned on the surface 
they are fit to serve on a dish covered Avith a napkin, the crab-shell 
in the middle and the scallop-shells around it, garnished with si:»rig8 
of parsley. 

Frogs. 

Scald the hind quarters in boiling water, rub them with lemon 
juice and boil for three minutes, wipe them, dip them first in 
cracker dust, then in a mixture of two beaten eggs in half a cuj) of 
milk seasoned with pepper and salt, then again in cracker crumbs. 
When they are well covered with crumbs fry in a mixture of hot 
lard and butter. 

Lobster Croquettes. 

Chop the lobster very fine; mix with pepper, salt, bread crumbs 
and a little parsley; moisten with cream and a small piece of butter; 
shape with your hands; dip in egg, roll in bread crumbs and fry. 

Lobster Cutlets. 

Mince the flesh of lobsters fine; season with salt, pepper and 
tipice; melt a piece of butter in a saucepan; mix with it one table- 
spoonful of flour; add lobster and finely-chopped parsley; mix with 
some good stock; remove from the fire, and stir into it the yolks of 
two eggs; spread out the mixture, and, when cold, cut into cutlets, 
dip carefully into beaten egg, then into fine baked bread crumbs; 
let them stand an hour, and repeat, and fry a rich brown. Serve 
with fried parsley. 



SHELL FISH. 255 

Fried Lobster. 
If, when making a salad, you liave more lobster than you wish to 
use for that, keep it in a cool place and fry in butter and bread 
crumbs for breakfast. 

Lobster Patties. 

Make some puff-paste and spread it on very deep patty pans. 

Bake it empty. Having boiled well two or three fine lobsters, 

extract all the meat and mince it very small, mixing it with the 

coral smoothly mashed, and some yolk of hard-boiled egg, grated. 

Season it with a little salt, some Cayenne, and some powdered mace 

or nutmeg, adding a little yellow lemon rind, grated. Moisten the 

mixture well with cream, fresh butter, or salad oil. Put it into a 

stewpan, add a very little water, and let it steam till it just comes to 

a boil. Take it off the fire, and the patties being baked, remove them 

from the tin pans, place them on a large dish, and fill them up to 

the top with the mixture. Similar patties may be made of prawns 

or crabs. 

Lobster Rissoles. 

Extract the meat of a boiled lobster; mince it as fine as possible; 
mix it with the coral pounded smooth, and some yolks of hard- 
boiled eggs, pounded also. Season it with Cayenne pepper, pow- 
dered mace, and a very little salt. Make a batter of beaten egg^ 
milk and flour. To each egg allow two large tablespoonfuls of 
milk, and a large teaspoonf ul of flour. Beat the batter well, and 
then mix the lobster with it gradually, till it is stiff enough to make 
into oval balls about the size of a large plum. Fry them in the 
best salad oil, and serve them up either warm or cold. Similar 
rissoles may be made of raw oysters minced fine, or of boiled clams. 
These should be fried in lard. 

Lobster Salad. 
Pick the meat from the shell, cut into nice square pieces, cut up 
some lettuce and mix. Make a dressing of four tablespoonfuls of 
oil, two of vinegar, one of mustard, the yolks of two eggs and pep- 



25Q SHELL FISH. 

per and salt to taste; rub smooth together, forming a creamy look- 
ing sauce, and cover the lobster with it. Garnish with sliced 
cucumber pickles, egg-rings, parsley and cold beet cut in fancy 
shapes. 

Broiled Lobster. 

Cut the tail part of a lobster in two, rub a little sweet oil over 
the meat and broil. When done, brush a little butter over it with 
the juice of half a lemon and a very little Cayenne. Place the meat 
back into the shell and send to the table with a dish of broiled 
tomatoes and a fresh baked potato. 

Lobsters en Brochette. 

Cut up the tail of a lobster in square pieces; take a few thin 
slices of bacon and cut into lengths to match the lobster; place 
them on a skewer alternately and broil; baste as in broiled lobster 
and send to the table on a bed of water-cresses. 

Roasted Lobsters. 

When lobsters are half cooked, remove from the water and rub 

thoroughly with butter; lay before the fire; continue basting with 

butter until it has a fine froth and the shell becomes a dark brown. 

Place on a dish and serve with plain melted butter in a sauce-boat. 

Gratin of Lobster. 

Take out all the meat from a large lobster, then wash the body, 
tail, and shells, if the lobster is first cut in halves down the back, 
then dry and butter them and sprinkle with bread crumbs; chop 
the meat fine, with a little parsley and shallot, a few drops of 
essence of anchovies, a spoonful of vinegar, Cayenne pepper and salt, 
a little bechamel sauce, and boil all well together, add a yolk of 
^gg, put it to cool, then fill your shells or paper cases, cover with 
bread crumbs and some pieces of butter; brown them in the oven, 
and dish on a napkin. 

Broiled Oysters. 

Drain select oysters in a colander; dip them one by one into 



SHELL FISH. 257 

melted butter, to prevent sticking to the gridiron, and place them 
on a wire gridiron. Broil over a clear fire. When nicely browned 
on both sides, season with salt, pepper, and plenty of butter, and 
lay them on hot buttered toast, moistened with a little hot water. 
Serve very hot, or they will not be nice. Oysters cooked in this 
way and served on broiled beefsteak are nice. 

Oyster Chowder. 

Fry out three rashers of pickled pork in the pot you make the 
chowder; add to it three potatoes and two onions, boih sliced; boil 
until they are nearly cooked; soak two or three dozen crackers in 
cold water a few minutes, then put into the pot half a can of oys- 
ters, one quart of milk and the soaked crackers. Boil all together 
a few minutes; season with salt, pepper and butter. Fish chowder 
can be made the same way by using fresh fish instead of oysters. 

Oyster Croquettes. 

Take the hard end of the oyster, leaving the other end in nice 
ehape for a soup or stew; scald them, then chop fine and add an 
equal weight of potatoes rubbed through a colander; to one pound 
of this add two ounces of butter, one teaspoonful of salt, half a 
teaspoonful of pepper, half a teaspoonful of mace, and one-half gill 
of cream; make in small rolls, dip in egg and grated bread, fry in 
deep lard. 

Fricasseed Oysters, 

Drain the liquor from a quart of oysters, strain half a pint and 
put in a porcelain kettle, and when it boils put in the oysters. 
Have a tablespoonful of flour rubbed well into two tablespoonfuls 
of butter. When the oysters begin to swell, stir in the butter and 
flour, cook until the oysters are white and plump; then add a gill 
of cream and pepper and salt. 

Fried Oysters. 
Take large oysters, wash and drain. Dip them into flour; put in 
a hot frying pan with plenty of lard and butter; season with salt 



258 SHELL FISH. 

and pepper; fry brown on both sides. Fried in this way, they are 
similar to broiled oysters. 

Fried Oysters, No. 2. 

Drain, remove all bits of shell, and sprinkle with pepper and salt, 
and set in a cool place for ten minutes. Then, if the oysters are 
small, pour them into a pan of crackers, rolled fine ; add liquor, mixi 
well and let stand five minutes; add a little salt and peppei*, mold 
into small cakes, with two or three oysters in each, roll in dry 
crackers and fry in lard and butter. Serve hot in a covered dish. 

Chicken and Oyster Pie. 

Parboil a chicken; cut up and place in a pie dish; cover with 
oysters and season to taste; add two hard-boiled eggs cut into 
slices, with a piece of butter, size of an egg, in the center; dust the 
whole with flour, and pour on one-half pint of milk; put on a puff- 
paste crust and bake about three-quarters of an hour in a moderate 
oven. 

Scalloped Oysters, 

Prepare stale bread-crumbs, season to taste with pepper and salt; 
butter a deep dish; cover the bottom with the crumbs; add a layer 
of large-sized oysters, with butter; fill the dish alternately with 
oysters, crumbs and butter. Bake in a hot oven until cooked 
entirely through; if they become too brown on the top, cover with 
paper. If preferred, scallop the oysters separately and serve in the 
shells, observing that the shells are well cleaned. Instead of crumbs 
use slices of well-buttered bread, if you like, or bake with a crust 
of puff-paste. 

Park Row Oyster Stew, 

Put the oysters into a stewpan with a little liquor to cover them; 
add a little butter, pepper and salt; stir every now and then while 
on the fire, and when poured into the dish, put in about a table- 
spoonful of milk to every ten oysters. 

Oyster soup is made in the same way, except that more liquor is 



SHELL FISH. 259 

added, and a tablespoonful of pounded butter crackers; add plenty 
of milk the last thing when the oysters are cooked, and let it boil 
up once. 

Maryland Stewed Oysters. 

Put the juice into a saucepan and let it simmer, skimming it care- 
fully; then rub the yolks of three hard-boiled eggs and one large 
spoonful of flour well together, and stir into the juice. Cut in 
small pieces a quarter of a pound of butter, half a teaspoonful of 
whole allspice, a little salt, a little Cayenne, and the juice of a fresh 
lemon; let all simmer ten minutes, and just before dishing, add the 
oysters. This is for two quarts of oysters. 

Plain Stew. 

One quart of oysters with liquor, pint and a half of milk, piece 
of butter size of egg, pepper and salt; boil all together until done. 

Oyster Sauce. 

Set the oysters in their liquor over the fire for a few minutes; 
then remove them from the liquor and stir into it some flour and 
butter well rubbed together, add salt and pepper, and when it 
has boiled well for five minutes put in the oysters and s^vve 
immediately. 

Oyster Pie. 

Make a rich puff paste; roll out twice as thick as for a fru/, ove, 
for the top crust — about the ordinary thickness for the lower. X^ine 
a pudding dish with the thinner, and fill with crusts of dry Ijread 
, or light crackers. Some use a folded towel to fill the interioi of the 
pie, but the above expedient is preferable. Butter the ed,,^es of 
the dish, that you may be able to lift the upper crust without 
breaking. Cover the mock pie with the thick crust, ornamented 
heavily at the edge, that it may lie the more quietly, and bake. 
Cook the oysters as for a stew, only beating into them at the last, 
two eggs, and thickening with a spoonful of fine cracker crumbs or 
rice flour. They should stew but five minutes, and time them so 



260 SHELL FISH. 

that the paste will be baked just in season to receive them. Lift 
the top crusty pour in the smoking hot oysters, and send up hot. 

Many consider it unnecessary to prepare the oysters and crust 
separately; but experience and observation go to prove that if the 
precaution be omitted, the oysters are apt to be wofully overdone. 
The maker can try both methods and take her choice. 

Pickled Oysteks, 
One ounce each of allspice, mace, cinnamon and cloves, one quart 
vinegar; scald all together, then put in the oysters, waiting until it 
is cool; next day scald all together. 

Oyster Patties. 
Line small patty-pans with puff paste; into eaok pan put six 
oysters, bits of butter, pepper and salt; sprinkle over a little flour 
and hard-boiled eggs, chopped (allowing about two eggs for six 
patties), cover with an upper crust, notch the edges and bake; serve 
either in the pans or remove them to a larger platter. 

Oyster Pot-Pie. 

Have ready nice light-raised biscuit dough, cut into small squares. 
Season the oysters well with butter, pepper and salt, and thicken 
them with a little flour; drop in the pieces of dough and boil till 
done. This may be baked in the oven in a pudding-dish, allowing 
the dough to brown on the top. 

Roasted Oysters. 

Take oysters in the shell, wash the shells clean, and lay them on 
hot coals; when they are done they will begin to open. Remove 
the upper shell, and serve the oysters in the lower shell, with a little 
melted butter poured over each. 

Oysters, Fancy Roast. 

Toast a few slices of bread, and butter them; lay them in a 
shallow dish; put on the liquor of the oysters to heat; add salt and 
pepper, and just before it boils add the oysters; let them boil up 
once, and pour over the bread. 



SHELL FISH. 261 

Oyster a la Poulette. 

Scald a dozen oysters in their own liquor; salt and remove the 
oysters; add a tablespoonful of butter, the juice of half a lemon, a 
gill of cream, and a teaspoonful of flour. Beat up the yolk of one 
egg while the sauce is simmering; add the egg and simmer the 
whole until it thickens. Place the oysters on a hot dish, pour the 
sauce over them, sprinkle a little chopped parsley on the top and 
serve. 

Raw Oysters. 

For a party, serve on a handsome block of ice in which a cavity 
has been made with a hot flat-iron. Set the ice on a platter and 
garnish the edges with slices of lemon. Have pepper, salt and 
vinegar on hand; also serve with lemon juice. 

Oysters with Toast. 
Broil or fry as many oysters as you wish, and lay them on but- 
tered toast; salt and pepper; pour over them a cup of hot, rich 
cream; keep them perfectly hot until eaten. 

Oyster Flavor. 

A German cook has discovered a way to have oyster flavor all the 
year round. Take fresh, lai-ge, plump oysters, beard them and 
place them in a vessel over the fire for a few moments in order to 
extract the juice, then put them to cool, and chop them very fine 
wiih powdered biscuit, mace, and finely minced lemon peel; pound 
them until they become a paste; make them up into thin cakes, 
place them on a sheet of paper in a slow oven and let them bake 
until they become quite hard; pound them directly into powder, 
and place the powder in a dry tin box, well covered; keep in a dry 
place, and it will be very much appreciated when the true oyster 
flavor is imparted to fish, sauces and dishes. This makes a delicious 
.sauce for fresh cod. 

New Way of Preparing Oysters. 

The ways of preparing oysters are not many. This method. 



262 SHELL FISH, 

however, is not widely known: Take two dozen oysters and throw 
them in a large deep dish; then take a small bunch of parsley 
chopped fine, a little lemon rind grated, half a nutmeg grated, and 
the crumbs of a stale French roll, also grated; let the latter be well 
incorporated, adding some Cayenne. Have in readiness the yolks 
of three fresh eggs beaten up into a foam; dip each oyster sepa- 
rately into the eggs and roll them into the bread crumbs until they 
are all covered with a good coat. Put a quarter of a pound of 
butter in the oven till it is melted while arranging the oysters in 
the pan, then turn them continually until they assume a perfect 
brown and crusty appearance. When fully cooked serve them with 
some celery, salt and thin slices of Graham bread and butter. 

Scallops. 
The heart is the only part used. If you buy them in the shell, 
boil and take out the hearts. Those sold in our markets are gen- 
erally ready for frying or stewing. Dip them in beaten egg, then 
in cracker crumbs, and fry in hot lard. Or, you may stew them 
like oysters. The fried scallops are generally preferred. 

Terrapins, or Water Turtles. 
Land terrapins, it is hardly necessary to say, are uneatable, but 
the large turtle that frequents our mill-ponds and rivers can be 
converted into a relishable article of food. Plunge the turtle into 
a pot of boiling water, and let him lie there five minutes. You can 
then skin the under part easily, and pull off the horny parts of the 
feet. Lay him for ten minutes in cold salt and water; then put 
into more hot water salted, but not too much. Boil until tender. 
The time will depend upon the size and age. Take him out, drain 
and wipe dry; loosen the shell carefully, not to break the flesh; cut 
open also with care, lest you touch the gall-bag with the knife. 
Remove this with the entrails and sand-bag. Cut up all the rest of 
the animal into small bits; season with pepper, salt, a chopped 
onion, sweet herbs, and a teaspoonful of some spiced sauce, or a 
tablespoonful of catsup — walnut or mushroom. Save the juice that 



SHELL FISH. 263 

runs from the meat, and put all together into a saucepan with a 
closely-fitting top. Stew gently fifteen minutes, stirring occasion- 
ally, and add a great spoonful of butter, or a teaspoonful browned 
flour wet in cold water, a glass of brown sherry, and lastly, the 
beaten yolk of an egg, mixed with a little of the hot liquor, that it 
may not curdle. Boil up once and turn into a covered dish. Send 
around green pickles and delicate slices of toast with it. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

GAME. 

To Select Game. 
|HEa&'a1^TS. — A young cock pheasant will have slw rt and 
blunt spurs, while an old one will have them long and! sharp. 
A hen pheasant may be known by its plumage, and its flavor 
is preferred by many, though not by all, except when almost ready 
to lay. 

Grouse. — These sare judged of the same as pheasants. 

Woodcock. — When these are fat they will feel thick and firm, 
and a streak of fat will appear on the side of the breast. Fresh 
birds will have supple feet, and the head and throat clear; whereas, 
when stale, the feet are stiff, and the head and throat nasty. 

Pigeons. — Tame pigeons, when fresh and in good order, are 
plump, and have their feet pliable and of a dusky white. Wild 
pigeons are not reckoned so good as tame, but they improve with 
keeping. They are not so lat but are to be chosen by the uame 
rules as the others. 

Hares. — An old hare does very well for soup, but for ordinary 
purposes it is by no means desirable. It will be distinguished by 
its dry, tough ears, its blunted claws and its widely-parted lips. A 
young hare has soft and tender ears, sharpish claws, and the parting 
of the lip close. 

Rabbit. — An old rabbit will have long, rough claws, and fur 
often inclining to grey. When fresh, the body will be rather stiff 
and the flesh dry and pale; but if stale, it will be limper and the 
flesh dark colored. 

%4 



GAME. 265 

Venison. — Choose the dark-colored meat, not the black, but the 
rich reddish-brown, with fine grain, and well coated with fat. 
Keep it hung up in a cool, dark cellar, covered with a cloth, and 
use as soon as you can conveniently. 

To Pot Birds. 

Pi'epare them as for roasting; fill each with a dressing made as 
follows: Allow for each bird the size of a pigeon one-half of a 
hard-boiled egg, chopped fine, a tablespoonful of bread crumbs, a 
teaspoonful of chopped pork; season the bii-ds with pepper and 
salt; stuff them and lay them in a kettle that has a tight cover. 
Place over the birds a few slices of pork, add a pint of water, 
dredge over them a little flour, cover, and put them in a hot oven. 
Let them cook until tender, then add a little cream and butter. If 
the sauce is too thin, thicken with flour. One pint of water is suf- 
ficient for twelve birds. 

Reed Birds. 

" These delicious lumps of sweetness, as they are appropriately 
called, ai-e always acceptable, but to thoroughly appreciate a reed 
bird dinner one must mingle with the gunners on the Delaware 
river as guest or member of one of the many clubs whose houses 
are situated within a few hundred yards of the hunting grounds. 
After the judge's decision as to who has high boat, the birds are 
plucked (and at some of the club houses drawn), arranged neatly in 
a dripping-pan with bits of fresh country butter between them. 
They are allowed to cook on one side a few minutes, and with a 
long-handled spoon are turned over to brown on the other side. A 
little salt is added and they are then placed on a hot platter en 
pyramicle and the gravy poured over them; they are then sent to 
the table with fried chipped potatoes." 

Reed Birds a la Lindenthorpe. 
On " ladies' day " the members of this club are more particular 
than on " member's day." They prepare the birds by drawing the 
trail and removing the head; thfy then take large sweet or Irish 



266 GAME. 

potatoes, cut them in two, scoop out the insides, and put an oyster 
or small piece of bacon inside of each bird and put the birds inside 
the potatoes, tie them up with twine and bake until the potatoes are 
done. The common twine is then removed and the potatoes are 
tied with a narrow piece of white or colored tape in a neat bow- 
knot and sent to the table on a napkin. 

Roast Prairie Chicken. 

The bird being a little strong, and its flesh, when cooked, a little 
dry, it should be either larded or wide strips of bacon or pork 
placed over its breast. A mild-seasoned stuffing will improve the 
flavor of old birds. Dust a little flower over them, baste occasion- 
ally and serve. 

Pheasants may be managed in the same way. 

Prairie Chicken. 

Clean nicely, using a little soda in the water in which they are 
washed; rinse them and drain, and fill with dressing, sewing them 
up nicely, and binding down the legs and wings with cord. Put 
them in a steamer and let them cook ten minutes; then put them in 
a pan with a little butter, set them in an oven and baste frequently 
until of a nice brown. They should brown in about thirty-five 
minutes. Serve them in a platter with sprigs of parsley alternated 
with currant jelly. 

Partridges and quails may be cooked in the same manner. 

To Roast Partridges, Pheasants or Quails. 
Pluck, singe, draw and truss them, season with salt and pepper; 
roast for about half an hour in a brisk oven, basting often with 
butter. When done, place on a dish together with bread crumbs 
fried brown and arranged in small heaps. Gravy should be served 
in a tureen apart. 

Quail on Toast. 
Pick and clean, cut in the middle of back, fry in butter to a nice 
brown, salt and pepper; now put in an earthern or porcelain-lined 



GAME. 267 

dish, one tablespoonful of nice butter and the same of flour: stir on 
a slow fire until butter is dissolved; then pour in slowly two-thirds 
glass of water and the same quantity of wine; salt and pepper; put 
in your birds that are nicely fried, simmer slowly one-quarter of an 
hour; toast some thin slices of bread (one toast to each bird); put 
in the dish you wish to serve, laying the birds on top; pour the 
gravy over all; serve very hot. 

To Broil Quail or Woodcock. 
After dresssing, split down the back, sprinkle with salt and pep- 
per, and lay them on a gridiron, the inside down. Broil slowly at 
first. Serve with cream gravy. 

Pigeon Pie. 
Dress and wash clean, split down the back, and then proceed as 
for chicken pie. 

Roast Pigeons. 
When cleaned and ready for roasting, fill the bird with a stufiing 
of bread crumbs, a spoonful of butter, a little salt and nutmeg, and 
three oysters to each bird (some prefer chopped apple). They must 
be well basted with melted butter, and require thirty minutes of 
careful cooking. They are best in the autumn, and should be full 
grown. 

To Roast Pigeons. 

They should be dressed while fresh. If young, they will be 
ready for roasting in twelve hours. Dress carefully, and after 
making clean, wipe dry and put into each bird a small piece of 
butter dipped in Cayenne. Truss the wings over the back and roast 
in a quick oven, keeping them constantly basted with butter. 
Serve with brown gravy. Dish them with young water-cresses. 

Pigeon Compote. 
Truss six pigeons as for boiling. Grate the crumbs of a small 
loaf of bread, scrape one pound of fat bacon, chop thyme, parsley, 
an onion and lemon — peel fine — and season with salt and pepper; 



268 GA3IE. 

mix it up with two eggs; put this forcemeat into the craws of the 
pigeons, lard the breasts and fry brown; place them in a stewpan 
with some beef stock and stew them three-quarters of an hour, 
thicken with a piece of butter rolled in flour. Serve with force- 
meat balls around the dish and strain the gravy on to the pigeon. 

Wild Duck or Mallard. 
This is one of the best of wild fowl. Truss it as you would a tame 
luck, but it is not usual to stuff it. As soon as you have plucked 
ind emptied it, boil down the giblets with a little bit of beef, to 
make savory brown gravy, flavored with lemon juice and wine. 
Wild duck is better served a little more under-done than tame 
duck. Some carvers slice the breast, and dose it with Cayenne, 
lemon juice and its own roast gravy — a mode of dressing admissible 
only when everybody likes high seasoning. The bones of the wild 
duck are smaller than those of the tame. The teal, the jewel of 
water fowl, if fat, should be laid each on its slice of toast, roasted 
before the fire; turn it over now and then, and serve on the toast. 
The cftot, on account of its black and very downy skin, is best 
flayed, i;rit into joints, and stewed with wine as a matelote. It 
then becoiijys excellent eating. 

Wild Goose, 

When to T)e had, is a treat for lovers of wild fowl; and yet, 
strange to say, there is a prejudice against it, as fishy. Some few 
species of geese may indeed graze on seaweed, and perhaps even 
swallow a few shell-fish when they happen to alight on the shore, 
hard pressed by hunger; but, as a rule, there is no cleaner feeding 
bird than the goose, feeding upon herbs or grain, but preferring the 
former as the staple of its diet. We know of no wild goose which 
is not excellent to eat, when obtained at the proj^er age and in good 
condition. 

Wild geese are roasted and served in the same way as wild ducks. 

A satisfactory combination is made by taking a little bone, some 
ottrtilage or tendon for the sake of its gelatine, suflicient fat — to be 



GAME. 2b» 

supplied, if the meat has none, from white bacon or fresh pork — 
and plenty of the flesh of whatever constitutes the pate. Pack 
these closely together, filling the interstices with minced fresh pork 
or veal, season well, but not in excess; flavor with bay-leaf, chopped 
shallot or onion, and lemon peel; with bits of truffle (when possible), 
hard egg, and button mushrooms interspersed here and there 
through its substance, and half a tumbler of wine, with a little 
catsup poured in to prevent too much drying up. Bake this in a 
gentle oven, and let it stand at least twenty-four hours before 
cutting it up. It will keep some time, especially if untouched, and 
will be found improved and ripened at the end of three or four days. 

Roast Hare. 
Broil the hare slightly over the coals, to give firmness to the 
flesh, then cover it with slices of fat pork from the neck to the legs. 
Then roast it for an hour, and serve it with sance piquante ^rsTpared 
with the crushed liver. 

A Nice Way to Prepare Cold Hare. 
Remove the flesh from the roast hare, and cut it in strips. After- 
ward break the bones and cook with them some butter and flour, 
onions, parsley, thyme, chives, salt, pepper, red wine, and stock 
broth ; boil them down to one-fourth, and having strained the gravy, 
put the slices of hare into it and serve it up without again boiling it. 

Roast Rabbit. 
Rabbits are roasted in the same manner as directed for hare. 

Rabbit with Herbs. 
Cut a rabbit in pieces and place it in a stewpan with butter, 
parsley, chives, mushrooms, bay-leaves, and thyme, chopped fine. 
When done add a spoonful of flour to thicken it. 

Venison Chops. 
Broiled and served with currant jelly are not to be despised. 
Trim the ends as you would a French lamb chop. 



270 GAME. 

Venison Epicurean. 
Cut a steak from the leg or a chop from the loin of venison about 
an inch and a half thick. Put a walnut of butter, salt, and pepper, 
into a chafing-dish; light the spirit-lamp under it, and when the 
butter melts put in the chop or steak; let it cook on one side a few 
minutes, then turn it over, and add a wineglassful of sherry or port 
and a tablespoonful of currant jelly. Simmer gently about seven 
minutes if it is to be eaten rare, and allow twelve minutes' cooking 
if required well done. 

Venison Patties. 

Make a nicely-flavored mince of the remains of cold roast venison; 
moisten it with a little sherry or gravy, and warm it in a saucepan; 
fill the patty-shells with the meat and serve, as oyster patties. 



CHAPTER XXIL 

MARKETING. 

„)EF0RE going to market it is a very good rule to determine 
P^ what shall be purchased and in what quantity. This is 
especially needful when the butcher is to be visited. An- 
other rule is to deal at shops where good articles only are sold, and, 
if possible, to take your money with you, because a ready-money 
customer will, as a rule, be the best served. It is not always safe 
to let the butcher, poulterer, fishmonger, or other provision dealer, 
choose for you, because he may be over anxious to sell what is not 
in the best condition, or what is from some other cause hardly 
salable. Experienced persons will not fail to observe carefully 
the quality of what they buy, and they will reflect upon the quan- 
tity of bone, gristle or other waste in it. They will also consider 
the requirements of the family and the uses to which they can put 
what is not consumed as soon as cooked. At the butcher's see the 
meat cut and weighed and placed ready to be sent home; you will 
then know what you have bought. Always buy good meat rather 
than inferior, and if possible from the best parts of the animal. To 
aid the inexperienced we will now enter somewhat into detail. 

Beef. — Young and well-fed ox beef is the best. It may be known 
by the lean being of a fine, smooth or open grain, and the fat of a 
yellowish white. When the fat is either a mottled yellow or white, 
the meat is doubtful. The suet, however, must be very white. 
Cow beef is inferior, its fat is whiter, the lean closer in the grain 
and not of so bright a red. Bull beef has white and shming fat, 

271 



272 MARKETING. 

close-grained lean of a dark red, and a stronger smell than other 
beef. 

The principal parts are as follows: 



SECTION OF BULLOCK. 

1. Cheek. . 10. Surloin. 

2. Neck or Sticking Piece. 11. Thin Flank, 

3. Clod. 12. Rump. 

4. Shin. 13. Aitch-bone. 

5. Shoulder or Leg of Mutton Piece. 14. Round or Buttock. 

6. Chuck Ribs. 15. Mouse Bullock. 

7. Middle Ribs. 16. Veiny Piece. 

8. Fore Ribs. 17. Thick Flank. 

9. Brisket. 18. Leg. 

Besides the above there are the kidneys, heart, tripe, sweet' 
breads, tongue, and palate. 

Good beef is more elastic to the touch than that which is old 
or in bad condition, so that when pressed with the finger the 
impression will not be permanent. In poor meat, the lean is usually- 
dark, the fat skinny, and the sinewy portions distinctly shown, 
especially a horny texture in the ribs. Beef should be perfectly 
sound, sweet and fresh, as taint rapidly spreads, and if frosted it 
will not cook properly. It is, perhaps, scarcely needful to say, that 
several of the joints which are enumerated above, are readily and 
commonly divided by the butcher and sold in portions for the 
convenience of small families and slender purses. If, at any time, 
more is bought than is wanted for present use, care should be taken 
to let it be from such parts as may be cut into two, the one for 



MARKETING. 



273 



roasting and the other for salting and boiling; or let it he such as 
may he easily warmed a-fresh, or otherwise presented hot again at 




A. Rump. 

B. Mouse Buttock. 

C. Leg or Hock. 

D. Buttock or Round. 

E. Aitch-bone or Top. 
P. Surloin. 

G. Fore Ribs. 

H. Middle Ribs. 



I. Chuck Rib. 

J. Neck, Clod, or Sticking Piece, 
K. Shin. 

L. Shoulder or Leg of Mutton Piece. 
M. Brisket. 
N. Thin Flank. 
O. Thick Flank. 
P. Veiny Piece. 



table, which will be the case with such parts as are stewed, and 
such cheap portions as the heart, and cold roasted ox-heart cut into 
slices and warmed in gravy is as good as when first cooked. 





SECTIONS OF SHEEP, OR LAMB. 

1. Leg. 5. Best end of loin 

2. Shoulder. 6 

3. Breast. 7 

4. Chump end of loin. 8 

18. 



Best end of neck. 
Scrag end of neck. 
Head. 



274 MARKETING. 

Mutton. — Good mutton, of Avhatever breed, is known at a glance, 
the ham, dark, bright, crimson red; the fat, white and firm, ana 
never too deficient in quantity according to the joint. Bad mutton 
is of an unsightly brownish coloi-, and has a bad smell with a little 
fat, and that flabby and yellowish, often, but not always, the car- 
cass looks as if the beast had been devoured by consumptive lean- 
ness. If you can get a sight of the liver, its state will sometimes 
tell you tales of the creature's healthfulness or the reverse. 

Pork. — Pork, more than any other meat, requires to be chosen 
with the greatest care. The pig, from his gluttonous habits, is 
particularly liable to disease, and if it is killed and its flesh eaten 
when in an unhealthy condition, those who partake of it will prob- 
ably have to pay dearlj^ for their indulgence. It is generally 
understood that dairy-fed pork is the best. Where it is possible, 
therefore, it is always safest to obtain pork direct from some farm 
where it has been fed and killed. When this cannot be done, it 
should either be purchased from a thoroughly respectable and 
reliable person or dispensed with altogether. Pork is best in cold 
weather. It is in season from November to March. It should be 
■avoided during the summer months. The fat should be white and 
firm, the lean finely grained, and the skin thin and cool. If any 
kernels are to be seen in the fat, the pig was diseased at the time 
it was killed. Pork should not be allowed to hang more than a day 
or two before it is cooked, as it will not keep unless it be salted. 
If cooked quite fresh, however, it will be hard. The head, heart, 
liver, etc., should be cooked as soon as possible. Care should be 
taken that the pork be thoroughly cooked. 

Veat is best when the animal is from two to three months old. 
Veal, like all yonvz m-izX^ has s, tendency to turn very quiukly It 
is both unpalatable and most unwlioiesome when -t is at all taiii\,o> .,, 
and it cannot be recovered, as brown meats sometimes can, by the 
use of charcoal. Therefore it ought not to be kept more than two 
days in summer and four in winter. If eaten cjiite fresh it is apt 
^c be a little tous^h. 



MARKETING. 275 

If there is any danger of the veal becoming tainted, wash it, and 
put it into boiling water for ten minutes. Plunge it into cold water 
till cool, wipe it dry, and put it into the coolest place that can be 
found. No meat is more generally useful for making soups and 
gravies than veal. 








SECTIONS OF CALF. 




1. 


Loin, chump end. 


7. 


Fore knuckle. 


2. 


Loin, best end. 


8. 


Breast, brisket end. 


3. 


Neck, best end. 


9. 


Breast, best end. 


4. 


Neck, scrag end. 


10. 


Blade-bone. 


5. 


Fillet. 


11. 


Head. 


6. 


Hind knuckle. 







Turkeys. — A young cock-turkey is the best, and may be known 
by its smooth, black legs and short sj^urs. The spurs must be 
closely looked into, because it is an old trick of the dealers to cut 
and scrape them in order to get rid of old birds as young ones. If 
in good condition the eyes will be bright and full and the feet soft 
and pliable; whereas where stale the eyes will be dim and sunken 
and the feet stiff and dry. The beak of a young turkey is some- 
what soft, but hard and rigid in an old one. The legs of an old 
hen-turkey are red and rough. In other respects a hen-tui'key may 
be judged of as a cock-turkey, spurs excepted. 

Fowls. — A young cock will have short spurs, which will require 
the same inspection as turkeys. A fine bird will have a smooth 
comb, a full fat breast, and a large rump. The skin should be 
delicate and transparent. Pullets are best when about to lay, at, 
which time they have partially formed eggs inside. Fowls with 
black legs are best roasted. Game birds shoulc? "ilso, be roasted. 



27Q MARKETING. 

Young Dorking, Spanish and Cochin should be provided for boil- 
ing. For broth, an old hen will do, if well cooked. 

Geese. — A young goose will have its beak and feet yellow with a 
very few bristles about them; but an old bird will have the feet 
and bill red and bristly. When fresh, the feet are pliable, but 
stiff and dry when stale. The fat of a young bird is whiter and 
softer than that of an old bird, and the breast is plump, as is the 
case with all poultry in good condition; knowing which the dealers 
have a trick of breaking the breast bones to deceive their custom- 
ers, and foist upon them old birds for young ones. 

Ducks. — The feet and legs of a fresh killed duck are pliable and 
soft, but those of a stale one are stiff and dry. Freshness of the 
eye is an indication of a fresh bird. A wild duck has rather small, 
reddish feet, while those of a tame duck are a dusky yellow, and 
somewhat large. An old duck should be kept hanging a few days 
before it is cooked; it will generally be lean and thin as compared 
Vith a plump young bird. 




CHAPTER XXIIL 



MEATS. 

'|!i Beef, Aitchbone of, to Carve. 

tN carving an aitchbone of beef it is necessary that it should be 
cut across the grain. In order to do this the knife should 
follow the line A to B in the illustration. The meat should be 
cut of a moderate thickness, and 
very evenly. Cut the lean and the 
fat in one slice, and if more fat is 
wanted it should be taken horizon- 
tally from the side. Before proceed- 
ing to serve, a slice of about a quarter of an inch in thickness should 
be cut from the top, so that the juicy part of the meat may be 
obtained at once. 

Brisket of Beef Stewed. 

Take six jjounds of beef, and, before dressing it, rub it over with 
vinegar and salt; place it in a stewpanwith stock or water sufficient 
to cover it. Allow it to simmer for an hour, skimming it well all 
the time. Put in six each of carrots, turnips, and small onions; and 
allow all to simmer until the meat is quite tender, which will 
require about two hours more. As soon as it is ready the bones 
should be removed. Boil for a few minutes as much of the gravy 
as will be required with flour and a little butter, and season it with 
catsup, allspice and mace. Pour a little of it over the brisket, and 
send the remainder to the table in a separate dish. 

Making Tough Steak Tender. 
Take one teaspoonful of salad oil, two teaspoonfuls* of vinegf^* 

277 




278 MEATS. 

and a very little Cayenne pepper. Lay the steak upon it and let it 
remain one hour; then turn it over and let it-lie an hour. Then fry 
or broil as usual. The vinegar softens the fibre and the oil keeps it 
soft. Steak may stand over night this way if turned about ten 
o'clock. Pounding steak is a great mistake; it breaks up the fibre, 
but drives out the juice and destroys much of its nutriment. 

Beef, Brisket of, to Carve, 
The accompanying engraving represents the appearance of a 
brisket of beef ready for the table. There is no difficulty in 

carving it. The only thing to 
observe is that it should be cut 
cleanly along the bones, in the 
direction indicated by the dot- 
^^s ^ ted line, with a firm hand, in 
moderately thick slices. Cut 
it close down to the bones, so that they may not have a rough and 
jagged appearance when removed. 

Broiled Steak. 
Never put salt on a steak until after it is cooked. After trim- 
ming on each side equally, dress to taste with sweet fresh butter, 
pepper and salt, and add, if preferred, a teaspoonful of lemon- juice. 

Broiled Beefsteak. 
To cook a good, juicy beefsteak, never pound it, but slash it 
several times across each way; have a nice bright fire and broil as 
quickly as possible, without burning; if the coals blaze from the 
drippings, sprinkle on a little salt, which will instantly extinguish 
the flames. Steak should be turned constantly while broiling, and 
to be rare should not cook over three minutes; butter and salt after 
taking up. This should be served very hot. 

Rrnvrp Steak with Oyster Sauce. 
Let your oysters give a turn or two with plenty of butter in a 
frying-pan, then add pepper and salt, a little flour, and the juice of 



MEATS. 279 

half a lemon, with enough water to make up the quantity of sauce 
you want, stir till the oysters are done, and serve with the steak 
broiled in the usual way. 

To Fry Steak, or Cook in Frying Pan. 
If you have not a broiler, steak may be cooked nearly as well by 
heating the frying pan very hot and just greasing it with a little 
butter, or a little of the chopped suet, and lay in the steak and keep 
turning until sufficiently cooked; then transfer to a hot platter and 
season with salt and pepper, and cover with butter and serve. 

German Way op Frying Beefsteak. 
Pound the cut steak a little, salt it and fry quickly with hot lard on 
both sides; pour off the lard and place the steak on the dish; put 
into the pan some fresh butter and fry with it some finely cut 
onions and pour this over the steak. 

Beefsteak Smothered with Onions. 
Melt a lump of butter in a frying pan; cover the bottom of the 
pan with onions sliced very thin; then lay the steak over them. 
When the onions are fried until they are tender, put the beef on 
the bottom of the pan and cover it with the onions; add butter or 
lard as you need it. Liver cooked in this way is nice also. When 
it is done, lay it on a platter and heap the onions on the meat. A 
very little gravy made in the pan in which you have cooked the 
meat and onions is an addition, but make only a little and turn over 
the meat, seasoning it well with salt and pepper. 

Beefsteak Pie, 
' Cut the steak into pieces an inch long, and stew with the bone 
(cracked) in just enough water to cover the meat until it is half 
done. Line a pudding dish with a good paste. Put in a layer 
of the beef, with salt and pepper, and a very little chopped onion; 
then one of sliced boiled potatoes, with a little butter scattered 
u^son them, and so on until the dish is full. Pour over all the 



280 



MEATS. 




gravy in which the meat is stewed, having first thrown away 
the bone and thickened with flour. Cover with a crust thicker than 
the lower, leaving a slit in the middle. 

Ribs of Beef, to Caeve. 
The rib should be cut in thin and even slices from the thick end 

towards the thin. This can 
be more readily and cleanly 
done, if the carving-knife is 
first run along between the 
meat and the end and rib 
bones. 

To Roast Ribs of Beef. 
The best piece to roast is 
the fore-rib, and it should be 
hung for two or three days 
before it is cooked. The ends of the ribs should be sawn off, the 
outside fat fastened with skewers, and the strong sinew and chime 
bones removed. The joint should first be placed near the fire, and 
after a short time it should be drawn back and roasted steadily. 
Baste freely with clarified drippings at fii'st, as there will not be 
sufticient gravy when first put down; keep basting at intervals of 
ten minutes until done. Care must be taken not to allow it to 
burn, as it is easily spoiled. Serve with horse-radish sauce. 

To Roast Sirloiist of Beef. 
Take out the suet and lay it thickly over the fillet. Tie the flap 
under the fillet ard make all firm before it is put into the oven. 
Should die oven be very hot place a paper over the meat while yet 
raw, in which case it will need very little basting; or turn the rib 
side up toward the fire for the first tAventy minutes. The time it 
will take in cooking depends entirely upon the thickness of the 
joint and the length of time it has been killed. Skim the fat from, 
the gravy and add a tablesj^oonful of prepared brown flour and a 
glass of sherry to the remainder. 



MEATS. 



281 




Sirloin of Beef, to Carve. 
A sirloin should be cut with one good, firm stroke from end to 
end of the joint, at the upj^er portion, making the cut very clean 
from A, B to C. Then disengage it from the bone by a horizontal 
cut exactly to tlie bone, B to D, using the tip of the knife. Bad 
carving bears the hand away to the rind of the beef, eventually, 
after many cuts, peeling it 

back to the other side, leav- 

A 
ing a portion of the best of 

the meat adhering to the 
bone. Every slice should be ® 
clean and even, and the sirloin 
should cut fairly to the very 
end. Many persons cut the 
under side whilst hot, not reckoning it so good cold; but this is a 
matter of taste, and so is the mode of carving it. The best way is 
"first of all to remove the fat, E, which chops up well to make pud- 
dings, if noli eaten at table. Then the under part can be cut as 
already desci-ibed, from end to end, F to G, or downwards as shown 
by the marks at H. 

Beef Balls. 

Mince very fine a piece of tender beef, fat and lean; mince an 
onion, with some boiled parsley; add grated bread crumbs, and 
season with pepper, salt, grated nutmeg and lemon peel; mix all 
together and moisten it with an egg beaten; roll it into balls, flour 
and fry them in boiling fresh driiDping. Serve them with fried 
bread crumbs. 

Fillet of Beef. 

This is to be larded and dressed with a brown mushroom sauce. 
Trim the fat off a tenderloin of beef, and if you are going to dress 
it for dinner trim off the corners somewhat. It wants to be the 
shape of a fillet whole. A whole fillet is usually too large for a 
family dinner. Trim down the loin so it is smaller at each end. 



282 MEATS. 

Save the pieces of meat tj-immed off, cut up In bits an inch square 
and make a stew with a iew mushrooms or potatoes. Never by 
any means throw them away. After the fillet is trimmed lard it by 
inserting little strips of fat salt pork over the upjDer surface with a 
larding needle. After larding lay on a baking-pan with thin slices 
of salt pork under it, and put bixttered paper over it to prevent 
burning the pork. Bake or roast it. It is usually served rare; then 
it should roast fifteen minutes to a pound. If it is to be well done 
it should roast twenty minutes for each pound. Season when 
brown, not before, with pepper and salt. 

A Good a^td Cheap Way to Cook Beef. 
A cheap dish can be made of a brisket or flank of beef. Cut a 
slice eight inches long and an inch thick, season highly, spread a 
stufting of soaked bread highly seasoned over it, tie it up and lay 
in water enough to cover, and cook slowly a long time. This 
makes a very nice dish and should be served with red cabbage. 
Cut u]) the cabbage as for cold slaw. Put in a saucepan one table- 
spoonful of sugar, one of butter, half a cup of vinegar, half a 
dozen pepper corns, and half a dozen cloves; then put in the cab- 
bage, cover tight and set on the back of the stove and let it steam 
an hour, when it will be tender. The beef may also be 
served with red beets, boiled till tender without breaking, 
peeled and laid around the dish of meat. A nice way to 
bake beef is to put in the pan under it a bed of vegetables and 
scraps of pork, a tablespoonful of carrot, turnip, sprigs of parsley, 
a half dozen cloves and a half dozen pepper corns; add a bay-leaf, 
if you wish, and a teaspoonful of onion. Yoxi will find that all 
these will give a nice flavor not only to the meat but also to the 
gravy made from the drippings. 

Beef a la Mode. 
Take a round of beef, remove the bone from the middle, also all 
the gristle and tough parts about the edges. Have ready half a 
pound of fat salt pork, cut into strips as thick and long as your 



MEATS. 283 

finger. Prepare a nice dressing the same as for stuffing a turkey, 

With a thin sharp knife make perpendicular incisions in the meat 

about half an inch apart, thrust into them the pork, and work in 

with them some of the dressing. Proceed thus until the meat is 

thoroughly plugged. Put it into a baking pan with a little water 

at the bottom; cover tightly and bake slowly four hours; then 

uncover, and spread the rest of the dressing over the top, and bake 

until a nice brown. After taking up, thicken the gravy and pour 

o\er the beef. It should be sliced horizontally. Is good either hot 

or cold. 

Pounded Beef. 

Boil a shin of twelve pounds of meat until it falls readily from 
the bone; pick it to pieces; mash gristle and all very fine; pick out 
all the hard bits. Set the liquor away; when cool, take off all the 
fat; boil the liquor down to a pint and a half. Then return the 
meat to it while hot; add pepper and salt and any spice you choose. 
Let it boil a few times, stirring all the while. Put into a mold 
jr deep dish to cool. Use cold and cut in thin slices for tea, oi 
warm it for breakfast. 

Beef Coquettes. 

Use cold roast beef; chop it fine; season with pepper and salt; 
add one-third the quantity of bread crumbs, and moisten with a 
little milk. Have your hands floured; rub the meat into balls, dip 
it into beaten egg, then into fine pulverized cracker, and fry in but- 
ter; garnish with parsley. 

Deviled Beef. 

Take slices of cold roast beef, lay them on hot coals, and broil? 
season with pepper and salt, and serve while hot, with a small lumf 
of butter on each piece. 

Beef Sausages. 

To three pounds of beef, very lean, put one and one-half pounds 
of suet, and chop very fine; season with sage in powder, allspice, 
pepper and salt; have skins thoroughly cleaned, and force the meal 
into them. 



284 MEATS. 

Beef au Gratin. 
Take cold beef, either boiled or roasted, and cut it in thin slices. 
(urease a tin pan with butter, dust with bread crumbs, put in a little 
chopped parsley, and lay on the slices of beef. Put salt, pepper, 
and parsley on top, dust with bread crumbs, drop on lemon- juice, 
md a little broth, just to cover the bottom of the pan, and place it 
in the oven. 

Beef Heart. 
Wash it carefully and stuff it nicely with dressing as for turkey; 
j-oast it about one and a half hours, and serve with the gravy, 
which should be thickened with some of the stuffing. It is very 
nice hashed. 

Dried Beef in Cream. 

Shave your beef very fine; pour over it boiling water; let it 
stand for a few minutes; pour this off and pour on good rich cream; 
let it come to a boil. If you have not cream, use milk and butter, 
and thicken with a very little flour; season with pepper, and serve 
on toast or not, as you like. 

Beef Omelette. 
Three pounds of beefsteak, three-foui-ths of a pound of suet, 
chopped fine, salt, pepper, and a little sage, three eggs, six Boston 
crackers, rolled; make into roll and bake. 

Broiled Beef Tongue. 
Put a fresh tongue on the fire with just cold water enough to 
cover it, and with it a carrot, an onion, a bay-leaf, a couple of slices 
of lemon, some black pej^per, salt and a little garlic. Let it simmer 
gently for about two hours till quite tender. Skin and trim it. 
Either serve it whole or cut it in slices, and arrange in a ring with 
the following thick sauce in the center: Strain the liquor in which 
the tongue was cooked (this should be reduced by simmering to a 
mere gravy) ; brown a large tablespoonful of flour in a good sized 
piece of butter; braize two or three cloves of garlic, and let them 



MEATS. 285 

steam a little while in the browning; then add the strained gravy 
by degrees, stirring it quite smooth. Add a little lemon-juice or 
vinegar; and whether it be served whole or sliced, dish the sauce 
with the tongue. If garlic is objected to, make a sauce of grated 
horse-radish, a carrot bruised fine, capers and a little wine. Gar- 
nish with lemon slices and parsley. 

To Boil Beef. 
Put fresh beef into boiling water (unless you wish to make soup, 
then it should be put into cold water) and bring quickly to a boil, 
then set on back part of the stove and simmer gently till done. 
Corned beef, if very salt, should be soaked over night, then put 
into lukewarm, not boiling, water. Simmer from the time of boil- 
ing till it is served up. Skim the pot thoroughly and turn the 
meat twice during the simmering. The meat will be much better 
if allowed to cool in the liquor in which it is cooked. 

Tongue Roasted. 
Parboil a tongue that has been salted about ten days; roast, 
baste with red wine, and cover it at last with butter. Serve with 
a rich gravy and sweet sauce. 

Tripe. 
This may be served in a tureen, stewed tender with milk and 
onions, or fried in bits dipped in butter. In both the above ways 
serve melted butter for sauce. Or cut the thin parts in oblong bits 
and stew in gravy; thicken with butter rolled in a very little flour, 
and add a spoonful of mushroom catsup. Or boil it tender in milk, 
and serve in milk-white sauce. 

Tripe a la Lyoxnaise w^ith Tomatoes. 
This economical dish, which is in reach of every family, is also 
very fine. Take two pounds of dressed and boiled tripe, cut into 
small strips two inches long and put into a saucepan. Parboil and 
drain off the first water; chop a small onion fine, and let all stew 
twenty minutes; add half a cup of thickening and then stir in half 



286 MEATS. 

a can of tomatoes; season with salt and pe2)per. This dish has 
become very popular in all the hotels throughout the country. 

BuLLOcrK's Heart, Roasted, 
Wash the heart in several waters, clean the blood carefully from 
the pipes, and put it to soak in vinegar and water for two hours or 
more. Drain it and fill it either with ham forcemeat or sage and 
onion stuffing. Fasten it securely, tie it in a cloth, j^ut into a pan 
of boiling water, and let it simmer gently for two hours. Take off 
the cloth and roast the heart while hot, basting it plentifully with 
good dripping for two hours longer. Serve with good brown 
gravy and currant jelly. The stewing may be omitted and the 
heart simply roasted for three or four hours, but the flesh will not 
then be so tender. 

Calf's Heart, Roasted. 

Wash the heart very clean, soak it in vinegar and water, fill it 
with a forcemeat made of four ounces of bread crumbs, two ounces 
of butter, two tablespoonfuls of chopped parsley, half a teaspoonful 
of finely-minced lemon rind, and a little salt and Cayenne. Fasten 
the heart securely and bake for two hours. Serve it with good 
melted butter, mixed with a tablespoonful of lemon-juice or vin- 
egar. A calf's heart is improved by partially boiling before it is 
roasted. 

Calf's Heart, Fried. 

Wash and soak the heart, cut it into slices about a quarter of an 
inch thick and fry these in a little hot dripping or butter. About 
five minutes before they are done, put a slice of bacon into the pan 
for each slice of heart and when they are sufficiently cooked, serve 
on a hot dish and cover each piece of heart with a slice of bacon. 
Boil two or three tablespoonfuls of thin fiour and water in the pan 
in which the meat was fried. Season it with pepper and salt; add 
one tablespoonful of red currant jelly and serve as hot as possible. 
The slices of heart will fry in fifteen minutes. 



MEATS. 287 

Sheep's Heart, Baked. 
Vrash two or three sliee^Ds' hearts in lukewarm. wat(?r, fill them 
with Vfcal forcemeat, and skewer them securely. Fasten a rasher 
of fat bacon around each, place them in a deej) dish, and with thena 
a little good stock, and an onion stuck with two cloves. Bake in a 
moderate oven for two hours; draw off the gravy; thicken with a 
little flour and butter, and season it with salt and pepper and a 
tablespoonful of mushroom or walnut catsup. Put the hearts on a 
hot dish, pour the gravy over them, and send red cnri'ant jelly 
with them to the table. 

Sweetbreads, 

Svveetbi'eads should be chosen as fresh as possible, as they very 
quickly spoil. There are two sorts — heart sweetbreads and throat 
sweetbreads. The heart sweetbreads are the best. In whatever 
way sweetbreads are dressed, they should first be soaked in luke- 
warm water for a couple of hours. They should then be put into 
boiling water and simmer gently for five or ten minutes, according 
to size, and then taken up and laid in cold water. Sweetbreads are 
quite as frequently employed as ingredients in sundry made dishes 
as served alone, and as they do not possess a very decided natural 
flavor, they need to be accompanied by a highly seasoned sauce, or 
they will taste rather insipid. They are in full season from May 
to August. 

Sweetbreads Fried. 

Prepare them as usual. Cut them in slices, egg and bread crumb 
them, dip them in clarified butter, bread them again, and fry in 
plenty of hot fat till they are brightly browned on both sides. 
Drain them, and then dish on toast. Serve with cucumber sauce. 

Sweetbreads Baked. 
After preparing the sweetbreads as above, brush them over in 
every part with beaten egg, roll them in bread crumbs, sprinkle 
clarified butter over them, and bread-crumb them again. Put them 



588 MEATS. 

in a baking-tin with about two ounces of butter, and bake in a well- 
heated oven; baste them till they are done enough and brightly 
browned. Take as many slices of hot toast as there are sweetbreads, 
put them in a dish, lay the sweetbreads upon them, jiour brown 
gravy round, but not over them, and serve immediately. 

Sweetbreads Broiled. 
Take moderate-sized sweetbreads and prepare them in the usual 
way. Stew them in good stock till they are done enough. Then 
drain them and press them between two dishes till they are cold. 
Split them in halves and trim them neatly; brush them over with 
butter, and broil them over a clear but very gentle fire. Have a 
plate Avith clarified butter on it near the gridiron and keep dipping 
the sweetbreads in it, turning them frequently. When they are 
brightly browned all over they are done enough. Dish the slices 
in a circle, and send brown sauce, flavored with lemon-juice, to 
table in a tureen. 

Sweetbreads and Cauliflowers. 
Take four large sweetbreads and two cauliflowers. Split open 
the sweetbreads and remove the gristle. Soak them awhile in luke- 
warm water; put them into a saucepan of boiling water, and set 
them to boil ten minutes. Afterwards lay them in a pan of cold 
water to make them firm. The parboiling is to whiten them. 
Wash, drain and quarter the cauliflowers. Put them in a broad 
stewpan with the sweetbreads on them; season with a little Cayenne 
and a little nutmeg and add water to cover them. Put on the lid 
of the pan and stew one hour. Take a quarter of a pound of fresh 
butter and roll it in two tablespoonfuls of flour; add this with a 
cup of milk to the stew, and give it one boil up and no more. Serve 
hot, in a deep dish. This stew will be found delicious. 

Tomato Sweetbreads. 
Cut up a quarter of a peck of fine ripe tomatoes; set them over 
the fire, and let them stew in nothing but their own juice till they 



MEATS. 289 

go to pieces — then strain them through a sieve; have ready four or 
five sweetbreads that have been trimmed nicely and soaked in warm 
water. Put them into a stewpan with the tomato juice, and a little 
salt and Cayenne; add two or three tablespoonf uls of butter rolled in 
flour. Set the saucepan over the fire, and stew the sweetbreads till 
done. A few minutes before you take them up, stir in two beaten 
"yolks of eggs. Serve the sweetbreads in a deep dish, with the 
tomato poured over them. 

Kidneys, Broiled or Roasted. 
Split the kidneys in two without separating the halves; peel ofl 
the thin outer skin. Season them with salt and pepper; broil them, 
laying the flat sides first on the gridiron, to keep the gravy in; or, 
fry thera the same. Or place them with the flat side upwards in a 
baking dish and put them in the oven. "When done, serve in the 
same diah in which they were baked. Immediately before serving, 
put on each half-kidney a piece of butter and a little finely-chopped 
parsley. 

Stewed Kidneys. 

Split ihe kidneys and peel off the outer skin as before; slice them 
thin on a plate; dust them with flour, pepper and salt; brown some 
flour in butter in a stewpan; dilute with a little water; mix smooth 
and in it cook the sliced kidneys. Let them simmer, but not boil. 
They will cook in a very short time. Butter some slices of toast 
and lay on a hot dish and pour ovei* it the stewed kidneys, gravy 
and all. 

Fried Liver. 

Cut one pound of liver into slices one-fourth inch in thickness, 
and dredge some flour over them. Take an equal number of slices 
of bacon; fry the bacon first, and when it is done enough remove 
from the fat and place them on a hot dish. Fry the slices of liver 
in the same fat, and when lightly browned on both sides, dish bacon 
and liver in a circle, a slice of each alternately. Pour the fat from 
the pan and dredge a little flour into it; add a quarter of a pint of 



290 



MEATS. 



broth, a little salt and pepper and a tablespoonful of mushroom 
catsup. Stir smoothly together until the sauce boils, and pour into 
the dish with the liver. Garnish with sliced lemon. If liked, a 
tablespoonful of fine\y-mmced gherkins or pickled walnuts may be 
added to the sauce. 

Fried Liver, No. 2. 
Take one egg to one pound of liver; cut the liver thin, scald with 
hot water and wipe dry; beat up the egg, dip the slices of liver 
into the egg, then into powdered cracker, and fry brown. 

Roast Quarter of Lamb. 
Trim the joint and skewer three or four slices of bacon securely 

to the outer side, brush three ounces of clarified butter over the 

inner part and strew upon it a thick covering of finely-grated bread 

crumbs seasoned with pepper, 
salt and a little finely-minced 
parsley. Put in the oven, and 
when nearly done remove the 
bacon and baste the meat with 
the beaten yolk of egg mixed 
with the gravy, throw some 
more bread crumbs over it and 

let it remain until nicely browned. If liked, squeeze the juice of a 

hmon over it and serve with mint sauce. 

Lamb Cnops, Fried. 
Cut a loin or neck of lamb into chops from half to three-quarters 
of an inch in thickness. Dip each one into beaten egg and after- 
wards into bread crumbs, flavored as follows: Mix three ounces of 
finely-grated l)read crumbs with a saltspoonful of salt, half a salt- 
spoonful of pepper, a tablespoonful of finely-chopped parsley and a 
quarter of a teaspoonf ul of finely-niixed lemon rind. Fry the chops 
in good drippings until lightly browned on both sides. Serve on a 
hoi dish and garnish with slices of lemon or crisped parsley. 




MEATS. 291 

Lam^b Chops, Broiled. 
Cut the chops about half an inch thick, trim them neatly, rt.^mov- 
ing the superfluous fat, place them on a hot gridiron over a clear 
fire and brown them nicely on both sides. Season them with salt 
and pepper, and serve as hot as possible. Garnish with parsley. 
Mashed potatoes, asparagus, green pease, or spinach, are usually 
served with lamb chops. 

Stewed Lamb with Gkeen Pease. 
Take two pounds of lamb, put it into a ?tewpan and cover with 
cold water; after removing the scum add a little pepper and salt, 
then let the meat stew for an hour and a half or nearly two hours; 
now add some boiling water (to make gravy); add your green 
pease (half a peck before shelling); let these cook about twenty 
minutes; stir up a tablespoonful of flour into half a cup of milli 
and mix with the stew. Let this cook two minutes 

Lamb Cutlets. 
Trim the slices free from fat, beat up the yolk of ?.n egg with 
rasped bread or crackers, seasons with pepper and salt, dip in the 
cutlets and fry in butter gently, until thoroughly dona 

Boiled Breast of Mutton. 
Take out the bones, gristle, and some of the fat; flatten it on the 
kneading-board, and cover the surface thinly with a forcemeat 
made of bread crumbs, minced savory herbs, a little chopped 
parsley, pepper, salt and an egg. The forcemeat should not be 
spread too near the edge, and when rolled, the breast should be 
tied securely, to keep the forcemeat in its place. If gently boiled, 
and served hot, it will be generally liked. Serve with good cape' 
sauce. 

Haunch of Mutton a la Venison. 
Mix two ounces of bay salt with half a pound of brown sugar; 
rub it well into the mutton, which should be placed in a deep dish 



292 MEATS. 

for four days, and basted three or four times a day with the liquor 
that drains from it; then wipe it quite dry, and rub in a quarter of 
a pound more of sugar, mixed with a little common salt, and hang it 
up, haunch downwards; wipe it daily till it is used. In winter it 
•should be kept two or three weeks and roasted in paste, like ven- 
.jon. Serve with currant jelly. The paste (made with flour and 
water) should be removed fifteen minutes before serving. 

Breast of Mutton with Pease. ■ 
Cut about two pounds of the breast of mutton into small square 
pieces. Put them into a stewpan with about an ounce of butter, and 
brown them nicely, then cover with weak broth or water, and stew 
for an hour. Remove the meat from the stewpan, and clear the 
gravy from fat. Put the meat into a clean stewpan, add an onion 
or shallot sliced finely, a bunch of sweet herbs, some pepper and 
salt, and strain the gravy over all. Stew for another hour, then 
put in a quart of young pease, and serve in about twenty minutes. 
Macaroni may be used in the place of pease. 

Mutton Curried. 
Put four ounces of butter into a stewpan, and chop fine, or pound 
in a mortar four onions ; add the onions to the butter with an ounce 
of curry powder, a teaspoonful of salt, a dessertspoonful of flour, 
and half a pint of cream; stir until smooth. Fry two pounds of 
mutton — cut in neat pieces without bone — to a light brown color. 
Lay the meat into a clean stewpan, and pour the curry mixture 
over; simmer until the meat is done. 

Mutton Chops. 
First select well-fed mutton, but not too fat, and get the chops 
evenly cut; if not, beat them into shape with the chopper. Not 
more than one-third of the chop should be fat. Put an ou^ice of 
butter or lard into the frying-pan; when it is entirely melted seize 
the chop at the bone end with a fork, and dip it for half a minute 
into the fat, then turn on one side, sprinkle with salt and pepper. 



MEATS. 293 

and if liked, finely-chopped shallot or onion, and savory herbs. In 
three minutes tui*n, and serve the other side the same; equalize the 
cooking by frequent turning, but give the chop altogether not more 
than ten minutes. A piece of garlic, if the flavor be approved, 
may be rubbed across the dish when hot, or it may be rubbed 
lightly across the chop. Serve with plain or maitre d'hotel butter. 

Mutton Cutlets a la Minute. 
The mutton for these cutlets should be cut from the middle of 
the leg, and sliced thin; season slightly with salt and pepper. Fry 
the meat quickly over a brisk fire, to make it crisp, turning it often. 
Let the cutlets be kept warm in the oven while the gravy is pre- 
paring. Have ready some mushrooms, chopped with a shallot, a 
sprig or two of parsley and thyme, minced fine. Stew these in the 
butter for a few minutes, and season with salt and pepper; add flour 
and water, strain and serve round the cutlets. 

Mutton Cutlets and Pukee of Potatoes. 
■ Boil or steam two pounds of mealy potatoes, mash them smooth, 
put them into a stewpan with two or three ounces of butter, two or 
three tablespoonfuls of cream or broth, pepper and salt; make them 
hot, and pile them in the center of a hot dish. The cutlets may be 
bread-crumbed and fried, or, if preferred, broiled and served round 
the puree. 

Boiled Leg of Mutton. 
Cut off the shank bone, put it into a large stewpan or kettle, with 
as much boiling water as will cover it. When restored to its boil- 
ing state, skim the surface clean, and set the stewpan back and 
allow the contents to simmer until done. Allow for a leer of mut- 
ton of nine or ten pounds, from twc And a half to three hours from 
the time it boils. Boil very young turnips for a garnish, also boil 
larger turnips to mash. Place the young turnips, which should be 
of equal size, round the dish with xhe mutton and send the mashed 
ones to the table separately. Melted butter, with capers added. 



294 



MEATS. 



should accompany the dish. The liquor from the boiling may be 
converted into good soup at a trifling expense. 

Mutton Kebbobed. 
Take a loin of mutton; joint well; take the following dressing 
and put between each joint: Two tablespoonfuls chopped parsley, 
a little thyme, a nutmeg grated, a cup of bread crumbs; mix well 
with two eggs; roast one hour. If there is a large flap to the loin> 
some of the dressing may be put in and then skewered securely. 

Leg of Mutton, To Carve. 
The leg of mutton comes to the table as shown in Fig. 1. Take 
the carving fork, as usual, in your left hand, and plant it firmly in 
the joint, as shown by A, in Fig, 1, placing it rather over to the 
other side of the joint, and drawing the leg over toward you on the 
dish about one-third, which brings the position of the fork from A 
to B. Cut straight down across the joint at the line marked C, not 
quite to the bone. Make the second cut a little on the slant, as 
shown in D, and take the piece out; continue cutting from each 
►■ide slantingly as the line marked D, either from the thick or the 

knuckle end, ac- 
cording to the 
taste of the per- 
son to be helped. 
LC a very small 

piece of the fat 
should be given 
with each slice 
of meat to those 
who like it. The 
knuckle, if any 
one asks for it, 

is first cut off in a lump, as shown by the circular line at F, and after- 
wards in slices. Mutton should be cut thick, but it should not be 
cut to the bone; the slice in the centre should not penetrate so far 




MEATS. 295 

as the circular kernel of fat found there, and called the " pope's 
eye," which is generally considered best to leave for hashing. 

The back of a leg of mutton is not generally cut until cold, when 
it is best sliced lengthwise, as shown in Fig. 2 ; the meat is still cut 
thick, but not quite so thick as in the cuts previously described. 
Cold mutton should be served with mashed potatoes and pickles, 

a part called H 

the "crump bone" in a leg of mutton, which may be removed by a 
circular cut from H to J in Fig. 2; it is usually relished cold. Fig. 
2 shows the joint when turned three parts over, held by the fork as 
previously described, and the dotted line at J indicates the direc- 
tion of the first cut. 

Roast Leg of Mutton. 
Get a leg of about eight pounds, which has hung at least a week, 
weather allowing. During hot summer weather this joint gets 
quickly tainted. Rub it lightly with salt, and put it at once into 
a hot oven for the first few minutes, then allow the oven to cool, 
and roast more slowly until done. Baste continually with a little 
good dripping until that from the joint begins to flow. When 
within twenty minutes to being done, dredge it with flour, and 
baste with butter or dripping; and when the froth rises serve on a 
hot dish. Make a gravy and pour round the meat, not over it. 

Mutton Cutlets with Provincale Sauce. 
Use one-fourth of a medium-sized onion, tablespoonful of butter; 
put over the fire and gradually add a spoonful of flour, cup of 



296 MEATS. 

water, one-half cup thyme, season with pepper and salt and stir 
constantly; add the yolks of two raw eggs and cook until about as 
thick as cream. This sauce can be used on cold meats, or in cook- 
ing raw meat. When used in cooking cutlets or other meats, the 
meats should be very slightly cooked on both sides in a hot skillet, 
then have a pot of fat large enough for the meat to swim in. Dip 
the cutlets in the sauce and put them in the boiling fat. Take 
them out and r611 in cracker dust and bread crumbs; put them 
back, and do this occasionally until the meat floats on top of the 
fat. They are then done. 

Pork — To Keep Fresh in Summer. 
Take pork, when killed in the early part of the winter, and let it 
lie in pickle about a week or ten days, or until just sufliciently 
isalted to be palatable; then slice it up and fry it about half or two- 
thirds as much as you would for present eating; now lay it away 
in its own grease, in jars properly covered, in a cool place, as you 
would lard. Re-fry when ready to use. 

Pork, to Cook. 
Large pork, such as portions of the shoulder, loin, or spare-rib, 
of large bacon hogs, may be cooked as follows: Rub the joint 
with pepper and salt, and put it into a large saucepan with a closely- 
fitting lid. When nearly done, add two or three onions and cari-ots, 
with half a dozen sticks of celery, four sage leaves, a bunch of 
parsley, a small sprig of marjoram and thyme, and as much stock 
or water as will cover the whole. Let the liquors boil up; skim 
carefully; then set back and simmer gently for three or four hours, 
according to size of joint. When the pork is done enough, lift it 
out, put the vegetables round it, strain and thicken a portion of the 
gravy, and pour it boiling hot over the pork. When the pork is 
removed from the table, trim it neatly and place on a clean dish to 
be eaten cold, or thicken the rest of the gravy and pour over the 
meat to be warmed over. 



MEATS. 297 

Pork, Belly Rolled and Boiled, 
Salt a belly of pork — young meat is the best — by mixing a salt- 
spoonful of powdered saltpetre with two tablespoonfuls of common 
salt, sprinkle the mixture over the pork, and let it lie for three days. 
When ready to dress the meat, wash it in cold water, and dry it 
with a cloth. Lay it, skin downwards, on the table, remove the 
bones, and cover the inside with pickled gherkins cut into thin 
slices. Sprinkle over these a little powdered mace and pepper. 
Roll the meat tightly and bind securely with tape. Put it into a 
saucepan with two onions stuck with six cloves, three bay-leaves, 
a bunch of parsley, and a sprig of thyme. Bring the liquid slowly 
to a boil, skim carefully, draw it to the back of stove, and simmer 
gently till the meat is done enough. Put it between two dishes, 
lay a weight upon it, and leave it until quite cold. The bandages 
should not be removed until the meat is ready to be served. Time 
to simmer, half an hour per pound. 

Pork Brawn. 
Take a small pig's head with the tongue, and two pig's feet. Clean 
and wash them, sprinkle two tablespoonfuls of salt over them, and let 
them drain until the following day; dry them with a soft cloth and 
rub into them a powder made of six ounces of common salt, six 
ounces of moist sugar, three-quarters of an ounce of saltpetre, and 
three-quarters of an ounce of black pepper. Dry the powder well, 
and rub it into every part of the head, tongue, ears, and feet; turn 
th^m over and rub them again every day for ten days. Wash the 
pickle from them, cut off the ears, and boil the feet and ears an 
hour and a half; then put in the head and tongue, cover with cold 
water, and boil until the meat will leave the bones. Take them up, 
drain, cut the meat into small pieces; first remove all bones, and 
skin the tongue. Season the mince with a teaspoonful of white 
pepper, three saltspoonfuls of powdered mace, one saltspoonful 
each of powdered nutmeg and Cayenne. Stir all well together, 
press the meat while warm into a brawn tin, and lay a heavy weight 



298 MEATS. 

on the lid. Put it in a cool place until the following day; dip the 
mold in boiling water, turn the brawn out, and serve with vinegar 
and mustard. 

Pork Chops, Broiled, 

Cut the chops rather less than half an inch thick. Have a clear 
fire; make the gridiron hot before putting the chops on it; pepper 
the chops, and when nearly done sprinkle salt, and a little powdered 
sage over them. Let them be done through, turn frequently, and 
serve hot. Tomato sauce eats well with pork choiJS. 

Pork Chops, Fried. 
Cut pork chops a half an inch in thickness; trim them neatly; 
sprinkle them on both sides with a little salt and pepper. Melt a 
little butter in a frying-pan, put the chops in it and fry them until 
they are thoroughly done. If liked, a little powdered sage may be 
sprinkled over them before serving. Send apple sauce to table with 
them. 

Pork Cutlets, Broiled. 

Pork cutlets are best taken from the neck or fore loin of small 
dairy-fed pork, not very fat. Neatly trim them. Score the skin at 
regular intervals and flatten the cutlets with a cutlet-bat. Brush 
them over with oil, season with salt and pepper, and place them on 
a hot gridiron over a clear fire. Turn them occasionally, that they 
may be equally browned on both sides, and let them be thoroughly 
cooked. Put them on a hot dish, and send tomato, piquant or any 
appropriate sauce to table with them. 

Leg or Pork, Good as Goose. 
Parboil a leg of pork and take off the skin. Make a stufiing as\ 
follows: Mince two ounces of onion very finely; mix with it half a 
chopped apple, four ounces of bread crumbs,, half a dozen chopped 
sage leaves, an ounce of butter, and a little pepper and salt. Bind 
the mixture together with the yolk of an egg. Make a slit in the 
knuckle, put the stuffing into it, and fasten securely. Put the jjork 
into the oven and baste liberally. Half an hour before it is taken 



MEATS. 299 

up, sprinkle over it a savory powder made of two tablespoonfuls of 
bread crumbs mixed with one tablespoonful of powdered sage, and 
a little pepper and salt. Do not baste the meat after the powder 
is put upon it. Serve with good brown gravy and apple sauce. 

Pork Cutlets, Fried. 
Melt two ounces of butter in a saucepan, and stir into it a tea- 
• spoonful of chopped parsley, a teaspoonf ul each of chopped sage, 
and minced shallot. Move these ingredients about for a few 
minutes, then add a little salt and pepper, and two well-beaten 
eggs. Dip the cutlets first into this mixture, then into finely-grated 
bread crumbs, and let them stand ten minutes. Melt a little butter 
in a frying-pan, fry the cutlets in it, and when thoroughly done, 
serve with a good brown sauce. 

Boiled Leg of Pork with Pease Pudding. 

Take a leg of pork and rub it over with salt; put it into a vessel 
and cover with salt and let it stand for ten days. At the end of 
that time boil it in soft water, and serve with cabbage all round it, 
and a pease pudding made as follows: Take a quart of dry pease, 
wash them, tie them in a clean bag, and boil with the pork. When 
the pease are done, strain them through a colander, put in a large 
lump of butter, some salt, and two yolks of eggs, and put back into 
the bag, and boil again for half an hour. The pease must be put into 
cold soft water for two hours before being boiled, otherwise they 
tvill never boil tender. 

Pork Pies. 

Make a crust as for chicken pies. Cut the meat into pieces the 
size of a small nut, and keep the lean and fat separate. Season the 
whole with pepper and salt and a teaspoonful of powdered sage. 
Pack the fat and lean closely into the pie in alternate layers until it 
is filled; put on the top crust and ornament according to taste; brush 
over with well-beaten egg, and bake in a slow oven as the meat is 
3olid and requires to be cooked through, the outside pieces will be 
hard unless cut very small and pressed closely together. Take the 



300 MEATS. 

bones and trimmings of the pork and stew them to make gravy; 
boil it until it will jelly when cold, strain, thicken and llavor, and 
when the pie is done raise the top crust and fill it with the gravy, 
and send the balance of the gravy to table in a tureen. 

Roast Loix of Pork, 
Score the skin of a fresh loin of pork at equal distances about a 
quarter of an inch apart. Brush it over with salad oil, season with 
salt and pepper, and place in a moderate oven. Baste liberally with 
butter or dripping at first, and when done serve on a hot dish, and 
serve with brown gravy and apple sauce. If liked, a little sage and 
onion stufling may be served on a separate dish. 

Pork Cake. 
Cut the meat, fat and lean, from a cold joint of roast pork, and 
mince it very finely; mix with it a couple of large potatoes freshly 
boiled and mashed, a little salt and pepper, a chopped onion, and a 
little powdered sage. Add two or three eggs, a little milk, suffi- 
cient to make a very thick batter. Fry the cake like an omelet, or 
bake in a buttered dish. Serve with pickled onions or gherkins. 

Pork Sausages. 

Have two-thirds lean and one-third fat pork; chop very fine. 
Season with one teaspoonf ul pepper, one of salt, three of pow- 
dered sage to every pound of meat. Warm the meat so that you can 
mix it well with your hands, do up a part in small patties, with a 
little flour mixed with them, and the rest pack in jars. When used, 
do it up in small cakes, flour the outside and fry in butter, or alone. 
They should not be covered, or they will fall to pieces. A little 
cinnamon to a part of them will be a pleasant addition. They 
should be kept where it is cool, but not damp. They are very nice 
for bi'eakfast. 

Pork and Beans. 

Take two pounds side pork, not too fat nor too lean, and two 
Quarts of marrowfat beans; put the beans to soak the night before 



MEATS. 301 

you boil them in a gallon of milk-warm water. After breakfast, 
scald and scrape the rind of the pork, and put on to boil an hour 
before putting in the beans; as soon as the beans boil up, pour off 
the water and put on one gallon of fresh water; boil until quite 
tender, adding more water if necessary; great care must be taken 
that they do not scorch. When nearly as stiff as mashed potatoes, 
put into a baking-dish, score the pork and put in the center; brown 
in the oven one hour. If preferred use corned beef instead of pork. 

Pressed Head. 
Boil the several parts of the entire head and the feet, in the same 
way as for souse. All must be boiled so perfectly tender that the 
meat will separate easily from, the bones. After neatly separated, 
chop the meat fine while warm, seasoning with salt, pepper, and 
other spices, to taste. Put it in a strong bag, place a weight on it 
and let it remain till cold. Or put it in any convenient dish, 
placing a plate with a weight on it to press the meat. Cut in 
slices, roll in flour, and fry in lard. 

Boiled Pig's Feet. 
Take the fore feet, cut off the hocks, clean and scrape them well; 
place two feet together and roll them up tightly in common mus- 
lin; tie or sew them so that they will keep in perfect shape, and 
boil them seven hours on a moderate fire — they will then be very 
soft; lift them out carefully and let them cool off; then remove the 
muslin and you will find them like jelly. Serve with vinegar, or 
split them and roll in bread crumbs or cracker dust, and fry or 
broil them. Serve with a little tart sauce. 

Pig's Foot Cheese. 
Boil the hocks and feet of equal quantity loose in a pot till the 
meat will fall freely from the bones; season well with pepper and 
salt; put into a pan while hot and press it. Cut in slices and serve 
with vinegar or Worcestershire sauce. Both of the above are 
great delicacies if properly cooked. 



H02 MKATS. 

To KOAST A SUCKIXG PlG. 

If you can get it when first killed this is of great advantage 
Let it be scalded, which the dealers usually do; then put some sage, 
a large piece of stalish bread, salt and pepper in the inside and sew 
it up. Observe to skewer the legs back, or the underpart will not 
crisp. Lay it to a brisk fire till thoroughly dry; then have ready 
some butter in a dry cloth and rub the pig with it in every part. 
Dredge as much flour over it as will possibly lie, and do not touch 
it again till ready to serve; then scrape off the flour very carefully 
with a blunt knife, rub the pig well with a buttered cloth, and take 
off the head while at the fire; take out the brains and mix them 
with the gravy that comes from the pig. Then take it up and cut 
it down the back and breast, lay it into the dish and chop the sage 
and bread quickly as fine as you can, and mix them with a large 
quantity of melted butter, that has a very little floui'. Put the 
sauce into the dish after the pig has been split down the back and 
garnished with the ears and the two jaws; take off the upper part 
of the head down to the snout. Li Devonshire it is served whole, 
if very small, the head only being cut off to garnish with as above. 
It will require from an hour to an hour and a half to roast, accord- 
ing to size. 

To Cure Hams. 

Take coarse salt, with a sprinkle of saltpetre, pepper and sugar; 
powder and mix ; rub this in well a few times; smoke and wrap closely 
in paper of four folds or more; pack in dry ashes four inches thick 
around each ham. They will keep through the hottest of weather 
and be as good as new. 

Ham Pie. 

Make a crust the same as for soda biscuit, line your dish, put in 
a layer of potatoes, sliced thin, pepper, salt, and a little butter, then 
a layer of lean ham; add considerable water, and you will have an 
excellent pie. 



MEATS. 303 

BpNED Ham; Fine Substitute for Turkey. 
Take a good salted but unsmoked ham, remove the bone so as to 
leave the meat as solid as possible. In place of the bone put 
dressing made same as for turkey, and bake. It is good hot or cold. 

Baked Ham. 

Make a thick paste of flour (not boiled) and cover the ham with 
it, bone and all; put in a pan on a spider or two muffin rings, or 
anything that will keep it g.n inch from the bottom, and bake in a 
hot oven. If a small ham, fifteen minutes for each pound; if large, 
twenty minutes. The oven should be hot when put in. The paste 
forms a hard crust around the ham and the skin comes off with it. 
Try this and you will never cook a ham any other way. 

Smoked Meat on Toast. 
Take a cold smoked tongue or ham that has been well boiled, 
and grate it with a coarse grater or mince it fine, mix it with cream 
and beaten yolk of egg, and let it simmer over the fire. Prepare 
some nice slices of toast, butter them rather slightly, lay them in a 
flat dish that has been heated over the fire, and cover each slice 
with the meat mixture, which should be spread on hot. Place on the 
table in a covered dish, for either breakfast or supper. 

Ham and Eggs. 

Cut the ham into thin slices and broil, and spread over it a little 
butter. Poach the eggs in salted water and lay neatly upon the 
ham. 

Boiled Ham. 

Soak twenty -four hours; put into a pot with cold water and boil 
gently for five or six hours; take it off the fire and let it remain in 
the water until cold. Peel off the skin and sprinkle with bread or 
cracker crumbs, and brown in the oven. Slice very thin for the 
table. 



304 



MEATS. 




Ham Balls, 
Take one-half cup of bread crumbs and mix with two eggs well 
beaten; chop fine some bits of cold boiled ham and mix with them. 
Make into balls and fry. 

Ham Garnishing and Ornamenting. 
The usual way of finishing a ham, when it is not glazed, is to 

draw off the skin carefully, 
dredge bread raspings all over 
the fat, and put the ham in the 
oven to become brown and crisp. 
Fasten a frill of white paper 
round the bone, and garnish 
with parsley or cut vegetables. 

To Glaze Hams. 

Remove the rind by caking hold of the thick end first. Trim it 
neatly, put it in the oven for a few minutes; and press a cloth over 
it to dry it; brush it over with a paste brush dipped in glaze (a 
strong clear gravy boiled down as thick as syrup). To melt the 
glaze, put the jar which contains it into a saucepan of boiling 
water, and stir until dissolved. Brush the ham with two or three 
coats. 

Collared Breast of Veal. 

Bone a breast of veal ; lay it on the table and spread on it a thick 
layer of oyster forcemeat {See oyster forcemeat)', roll the veal as 
tightly as possible, and bind it with a tape. Put it into boiling 
water; let it boil up once; skim the liquor carefully; set the sauce- 
pan back and simmer the contents gently until done; put the bones 
into a separate saucepan with a moderate-sized onion, a bunch of 
sweet herbs, and a little pepper and salt; let them simmer till the 
liquor is strong and pleasantly flavored; strain it, thicken with a 
little flour and butter, and stir into it two or three tablespoonfuls 
of thick cream, or, if milk has to be used, beat into it thr ^olk of 



MEATS 305 

an egg. Serve toe meat on a hot dish with the sauce poured over. 
This dish may be garnished with forcemeat balls, and with the 
sweetbreads cut into slices, egged, and bread-crumbed and fried; 
or a little parsley and sliced lemon may be used instead. The meat 
may be baked instead of boiled, and then a little weak stock should 
be put into the pan with it, and it should be basted frequently. 

Boiled Breast of Veal. 

If the sweetbread is to be boiled with the veal, let it soak in water 
for a couple of hours; then skewer it to the veal. Put this into a 
saucepan, with boiling water to cover it; let it boil up, and care- 
fully remove the scum as it rises; add a handful of chopped 
parsley, a teaspoonful of pepper-corns, a blade of mace, and a little 
salt. Draw it back, and then simmer gently until done enough. 
Serve on a hot dish, and pour a little good onion sauce or parsley 
sauce over it. Send boiled bacon to the table on a separate dish. 
The sweetbread may, of course, be dressed separately. 

Ragout op Breast of Veal. 
Take off the under bone, and put the veal into a stewpan with as 
much boiling stock as will cover it; let the liquor boil up, then add 
a large carrot, sliced, three onions, a blade of mace, a bunch of 
sweet herbs, the thin rind of a lemon, and pepper and salt; skim 
the gravy and simmer it gently until the veal is quite tender- 
Thicken the gravy till it is of the consistency of sauce, and stir into 
it the strained juice of a lemon and a glass of sherry or Madeira. 
Put the veal into a dish, pour the gravy ovei* it, and garnish with 
savory forcemeat balls and slices of lemon. 

Roasted Breast of Veal. 
If the sweetbread is retained, skewer it to the back; season and 
cover with a buttered paper. Put it into a moderate oven and 
baste liberally till it is done. When it is roasted about an hour and 
a half, remove the paper, flour the joint and let it brown. Serve 
on a hot dish with melted butter poui-ed over. Garnish with sliced 

20 



306 MEATS. 

lemon. Forcemeat balls may be served with the veal and mush- 
room sauce sent to the table with it. Time, twenty minutes to the 
pound. 

Bubble and Squeak of Veal, 

Take the remains of cold veal; cut the meat into neat slices; fry 
them in hot fat; put them where they will keep hot. Take some 
boiled spinach, fry this, also, and when it is quite hot, pile it on a 
dish and arrange the pieces of meat around it. Send tomato or any 
kind of piquant sauce to table with it. 

Veal Cake. 

Butter a plain earthenware dish or mold; fill it with alternate layers 
of hard-boiled yolks of eggs, chopped parsley, and veal and ham, 
minced, seasoned highly, mixed thoroughly and beaten to a smooth 
paste. Pour a spoonful or two of seasoned stock upon the meat, 
cover the pan closely and bake in a gentle oven. When done 
enough, press firmly into the mold, put a plate with a weight upon 
it, and let it remain untouched until cold. Turn it out, garnish 
with parsley, and serve for luncheon or supper. Time to bake, 
about one hour. 

Veal Scallop. 

Chop fine some cold veal, and put a layer in the bottom of a 
pudding dish, and season with pepper and salt. Next put a layer 
of finely powdered crackers, and strew some bits of butter over it 
and wet with a little milk; then more veal, seasoned as before, and 
another round of cracker crumbs with butter and milk. When the 
dish is full, wet well with gravy or broth, and spread over all a thick 
layer of cracker, seasoned with salt, wet into a paste with milk and 
a beaten egg or two, and stick bits of butter thickly over it, and 
cover and bake a half or three-quarters of a hour; then remove the 
cover and brown nicely. 

Calf's Head, Boiled. 

Take a calf's head, cut it in two, and take out the brains; wash 
the head in several waters, and let it soak in warm water for a 



MEATS. 307 

quarter of an hour. Place it in a saucepan of cold water, and when 
the water comes to the boil, skim carefully; season when nearly- 
done. Half a head, without the skin, will require from an hour and 
a lialf to two hours. It must stew gently till tendei-. If you wish 
it full-dressed, score it superficially, beat up the yolk of an eggy 
and rub it over the head with a feather. Powder it with a season- 
ing of finely-minced or dried and powdered winter savory, thyme, 
or sage, parsley, pepper and salt, and bread crumbs, and brown in 
the oven; when dry, pour melted butter over. You may garnish 
the dish with broiled rashers of bacon. 

Calf's Braixs a la Ravigote. 
Wash the brains in several waters, and free them from skin and 
fibre; boil them for ten minutes in salt and water mixed with a 
tablespoonful of vinegar, and when they are firm, cut them in slices, 
dip them in a batter, and fry them to a light brown. Place them 
in a circle on a hot dish with a little fried parsley in the centre, and 
send ravigote sauce [See Savory Sauces) to table with them. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

POULTRY. 

Chicken Saute, a la Marengo. 
I AREFULLY pick and singe the chicken. Clean it with a wet 
towel, as washing takes away much of the nutriment. Cut the 
bird in pieces beginning with the wing. Cut a small piece of 
the breast out with the wing. This distributes the white meat with 
the wing, otherwise the wing is a poor part. Next cut off the wing 
side bone and then the legs, cutting the upper joint in two near the 
middle, and the lower the same, dividing the second joint, which 
many think the best j^art of the chicken. This is better than giving- 
all the best meat to one person. Next cut through the ribs, first 
one side then the other, taking the breast bone off and cutting it in. 
three equal parts, trimming off the ends of the rib bones. It will 
then be easy to remove the entrails. Then break the neck and cut 
the backbone in two pieces. Save the heart, liver and gizzard; cut 
out the little sand-bag from the latter, and remove it all, instead of 
splitting it open and leaving the skin. In removing the gall take a 
part of the liver to make sure of no accident. Then place all these 
pieces in a saucepan, moistened with salad oil. As soon as the 
chicken begins to be browned put in a tablespoonful of flour; stir 
together and let the whole become brown by cooking. Then cover 
the whole with hot water, and season well with salt and pepper. 
If too much salt should be added it may be counteracted by a little 
vinegar and sugar. If it is desired, olives or button onions may be 
added. If so, put them in when the hot water is put in and cook 
slowly. After the flour and water are added, stirring is necessary^ 

308 



5d 



X 
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O 

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POULTRY. 309 

and it should be done with a flat wooden stick, which will not 
scratch the pan like metal. White pepper is better than black, as 
it is .more digestible and has not the hard pieces of shell. An 
apple corer can be used to take the stones out of the olives, but a 
more economical instrument is a small sharp knife with which the 
olive can be peeled off the stone. The onions should be used whole, 
carefully relieved of the dry shell. When the chicken is sufficiently 
cooked, add a glass of sherry or Madeira wine, but the wine should 
not be added until ready to serve. If the wine and olives are not 
used, you have a nice brown fricassee. Those chickens are the best 
which have small bones, short legs, and clean, white-looking flesh. 
Chickens with white legs should be boiled, those with black legs 
roasted. The flesh of chickens is generally considered more 
digestible than any other animal food. 

Capox Ran^aque. 
Use a capon or nice chicken. Have it carefully picked, singef 
and wiped with a wet towel; cut off the legs just below the joint; 
split down the back, and take out the crop; then bone the capon^ 
which is done in this way: Cut down the middle of the back all the 
w^ay; take out the crop, without breaking the skin of the neck; 
turn back the skin and cut the joint of the wing; then cut along 
■close to the bone, until you have reached the leg joint, which twist 
out of joint -svhere it joins the body; cut down the side until you 
have reached the edge of the breast bone, taking care not to. cut 
the entrails; then go up the other side of the chicken in the same 
manner that you came down. Leave the leg and wing bones in; 
replace the bones taken out by stuffing, and sew up the carcass. 
For boned chicken, remove all bones from the inside. To stuff a 
capon you can use enough fresh pork and veal, in equal quantity, 
chopped fine, to fill up the place in the carcass. For every pound 
of forcemeat use one glass of wine and one whole egg; one tea- 
spoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of mixed ground spice, one-half 
saltspoonful of pepper. In the place of the spices you can use 
sweet herbs. You can use in the place of this forcemeat a nice 



810 POULTRY. 

stuffing of bread. When finished bake slowly about two hours. 
To make the stuffing use fresh pork and veal in equal quantities, 
chopped fine. If you have a five-pound chicken three pounds of 
forcemeat will be enough. Make two-thirds the weight of the 
chicken. Lean veal and lean pork, both raw. For one pound of 
forcemeat use one glass of wine — sherry or Madeira, one egg, one 
teaspoonf ul of salt, one teaspoonf ul of mixed ground spice, and one- 
half saltspoonful of pepper. The spice may be cloves, allspice, and 
nutmeg, and any sweet herb you wish — thyme, summer savory, or 
sweet marjoram. A regular boned chicken should be boiled, stuffed 
and sewed up. For the Ranaque, stuff, then sew up. Leave long 
ends in sewing so they will be easy to remove when it is done. 
Push the legs up to the breast as far as possible. Run a trussing 
needle through with a cord attached, Avhich tie around the chicken. 
Then run a cord through the breast and wings, and pass it under 
the back and tie. A skewer may be used. Bake slowly two hours. 
It may be well to tie a slice of pork over the breast. 

Fricasseed Chicken. 
Cut up chicken, and boil with a slice or two of bacon in sufficient 
water to cover till quite tender. Fry some pork, and, when cooked a 
little, drain the chicken and fry with the pork till brown. Then take 
out and pour the broth into the frying pan with the pork fat, and 
make a gravy thickened with browned flour, season well with butter, 
and put the chicken into the gravy. Be sure and have the fat quite 
hot when the chicken is put in, so it will brown readily. 

Chicken Pie. 
Take two full-grown chickens, or more, if they are small, disjoint 
■:kem and cut the backbone, etc., as small as convenient; boil them 
with a few slices of salt pork in water enough to cover them; let 
them boil quite tender, then take out the breast bone. After they 
boil and the scum is taken off, put in a little onion, cut very fine, 
not enough to taste distinctly, but just enough to flavor a little; 
rub some parsley very fine, when dry, or cut fine when green — this. 



POULTRY. 311 

gives a pleasant flavor. Season well with pepper and salt, and a 
few ounces of good fresh butter. When all is cooked well, have 
liquid enough to cover the chicken; then beat two eggs and stir in 
some sweet cream. Line a five-quart pan with a crust made like 
soda biscuit, only more shortening, put in the chicken and liquid, 
then cover with a crust the same as the lining. Bake till the crust 
is done, and you will have a good chicken pie. 

Frying Chickens. 

Many people prefer chickens fried to any other way. Dissect, 
salt, and pepper; roll the pieces in flour and fry in lard. When 
done, pour off the lard and put in a quarter of a pound of butter, a 
cup of cream, a little flour, and some parsley, scalded and chopjjed 
fine for the sauce. 

Chicken Salad. 

Cut the meat from two chickens, or one, if you want a small dish. 
Add an equal quantity of shred lettuce, after you have cut the 
chickens into narrow shreds two inches long; stir in a bowl. Pre- 
pare a dressing thus: Beat the yolks of two eggs, salt lightly, and 
beat in, a few drops at a time, four tablespoonfuls of oil; then, as 
gradually, three teaspoonfuls of hot vinegar, and half a teaspoonful 
of best celery essence. The mixture should be thick as cream; pour 
over the chicken, mix well and lightly; put into a salad dish and 
lay sections of two hard-boiled eggs on top, with a chain of sliced 
whites around the edge. 

Chicken Croquettes. 
One cold, boiled chicken, chopped fine; then take a pint of sweet 
milk, and when the milk is boiled, stir into it two large tablespoon- 
fuls of flour, made thin in a little cold milk; after the flour is well 
cooked with the milk, put in a piece of butter the size of an eggy 
add salt and Cayenne pepper; stir all well into the chicken; roll up 
with your hand, and dip first into an egg beaten up, then into 
crackers rolled fine, and fry in hot lard, or lard and buttei-. 



312 POULTRY. 

Baked Chicken. 

Split open in the back, season with salt and pepper, and plenty of 
butter; pour a little water into the pan, and, while baking, baste 
often, turning the chicken so as to nicely brown all over. When 
done, take up the chicken; thicken the gravy with a little flour 
and serve in a gravy boat. Chickens are nice stuffed and baked in 
the same manner as turkey. 

A Nice Way to Cook Chicken. 
Cut the chicken up, put into a pan, and cover with water; let it 
stew as usual. When done, make a thickening of cream and flour. 
Add butter, pepper and salt. Have ready a nice shortcake, baked 
and cut in squares, rolled thin as for crust. Lay the cakes on the 
dish, and pour the chicken and gravy over them while hot. 

Chicken PrDDiNG. 
Cut up the chickens and stew until tender. Then take them 
from the gravy, and spread on a flai dish to cool, having first well- 
seasoned them with butter, p pper and salt. Make a batter of one 
quart of milk, three cups of flour, three tablespoonfuls of melted 
butter, one-half teaspoonful of soda, one teaspoonful of cream of 
tai'tar, and a little salt. Butter a pudding dish and put a layer of the 
chicken at the bottom, and then a cup .f the batter over it. Pro- 
ceed till the dish is full. The batter must form the crust. Bake 
an hour, and serve the thickened gravy in a gravy boat. 

Jellied Chicken or Veal. 
Boil a chicken in as little water as possible, until the meat falls 
from the bones; chop rather fine, and season with pepper and salt; 
put in a mold a layer of the chopped meat and then a layer of 
hard-boiled eggs, cut in slices; then layers of meat and egg alter- 
nately until the mold is nearly full; boil down the liquor left in the 
pot one-half; while warm, add one-quarter of an ounce of gelatine, 
and when dissolved, pour into the mold over the meat. Set in a 
cool place over night, to jelly. 



POULTRY. 313 

Scalloped Chicken. 
]\Iince cold chicken and a little lean ham quite tine; season with 
pepper and a little salt; stir all together, add some sweet cream, 
enough to make it quite moist, cover with crumbs, put it into 
scallop shells or a flat dish, put a little butter on top, and brown 
before the fire or front of a range. 

Chicken Pot-Pie. 

Cut and joint a large chicken; cover with water, and let it boil 
gently until tender; season with salt and pepper, and thicken the 
gravy with two tablespoonfuls of flour mixed smooth in a piece of 
butter the size of an egg. Have ready a nice, light, bread dough; 
cut with a biscuit-cutter about an inch thick; drop this into the 
boiling gravy, having previously removed the chicken to a hot 
platter; cover, and let it boil from one-half to three-quarters of an 
hour. To ascertain whether they are done or not, stick into one of 
them a fork, and if it comes out clean, they are done. Lay on the 
platter with the chicken, pour over the gravy, and serve. 

Broiled Chicken. 

Only young, tender chickens are nice broiled. After cleaning 
and washing them, split down the back, wipe dry, season with salt 
and pepper, and lay them inside down on a hot gridiron over a bed 
of bright coals. Broil until nicely browned and well cooked 
through, watching and turning to prevent burning. Broil with 
them a little salt pork, cut in thin slices. After taking them from 
the gridiron, work into them plenty of butter, and serve, garnished 
with the pork, slices of lemon and parsley. 

Ducks a la Franc aise. 
Lard the breast of a duck with bacon and put it in the oven for 
an hour, and then put it into a stewpan of gravy previously pre- 
pared in the following manner: To one pint of beef gravy add two 
dozen chestnuts, roasted and peeled; two onions, sliced and fried 
in butter; two sage leaves, and a sprig of thyme; pepper and salt. 



314 POULTRY. 

When the duck has stewed till tender put it on a dish, add a 
quarter of a pint of port wine to the gravy, a little butter, and flour 
to thicken; pour it over the duck and serve. 

Pressed Chicken. 
Boil two chickens until dropping to pieces; jjick meat off bones, 
taking out all skin; season with salt and pepper; put in deep tin 
mold; take one-fourth box of gelatine, dissolved in a little warm 
water, add to liquid left in kettle, and boil until it begins to 
thicken; then pour over the chicken and set away to cool; cut in 
slices for table. 

Duck a la Mode. 

Take a couple of ducks, divide them into quarters and lay them 
in a stewpan with a sprinkling of flour, pepper and salt. Put a 
large lump of butter divided into pieces at the bottom of the stew- 
pan and fry the ducks until they are a nice light-brown color. 
Remove the frying-pan and put in half a pint of gravy and a glass 
of port; sprinkle more flour and add a bunch of sweet herbs, two or 
three shallots minced fine, an anchovy, and a little Cayenne when 
the ducks have stewed in the gravy till tender, put them on a dish, 
take out the herbs, clear off any fat, and serve with the sauce 
thrown over them. 

Baked Duck. 

To cook a duck satisfactorily boil it first, until tender; this can 
be determined by trying the wing, as that is always a tough part of 
a fowl. When tender take it out, rinse it in clean water, stuff and 
put it in the oven for about three-quarters of an hour, basting it 
often. 

Braised Ducks. 

Prepare the ducks exactly like chickens for the dressing, which 
should be seasoned with butter, sage and onions, as well as salt and 
pepper. Put them in a pot Avith some chopped onions, a little 
butter and water enough to steam. Let them stew gently with the 
lid on, and then let the water evaporate and then brown them. 
Serve with green pease and jelly. 



POULTRY. 315 

Braise of Duck with Turnip. 

Prepare a domestic duck as for roasting. Line a small pan, just 
large enough for the duck, with slices of bacon; strew over the 
bottom a little parsley, powdered herbs, and lemon peel; lay in the 
duck, and add a carrot cut into strips, an onion stuck with a few cloves 
and a dozen whole peppers; cover with stock and add a tablespoon- 
ful of strong vinegar; baste frequently and simmer until done. 
Fry some slices of turnip in butter to a light-brown, drain and add 
them to the stewpan after removing the duck, which should be kept 
hot. When the turnips are tender remove them, strain the gravy, 
thickening if necessary with a little flour or arrow-root; put the 
duck on a dish, turn the hot gravy over it, and garnish with the 
turnips. 

Fricasseed Duck. 

Most people think a duck must be roasted, but try this once 
instead: Cut a mallard or red duck into four quarters; chop an 
onion fine, and put all into a pot; cover with water, and add more 
as it boils away. Stir a little celery seed, or celery chopped up fine, 
three or four strips of salt pork, and when nearly done add a table- 
spoonful of Worcestershire sauce. Build a mound of mashed potatoes 
around your dish and carefully lay the contents of the fricassee in 
the center. Season with salt and pepper. This makes a juicy and 
delicious dish. 

Mock Duck. 

Take a round of beefsteak; salt and pepper; prepare a dressing 
as for turkey and lay it in the steak; sew up; lay two or three slices of 
fat pork upon it and roast; baste often and you cannot tell it from 
duck. 

Minced Fowls. 

Remove from the bones all the flesh of either cold, roast or boiled 
fowls. Clean it from the skin, and keep covered from the air until 
ready for use. Boil the bones and skin with three-fourths of a pint 
of water until reduced quite half. Strain the fJjravy and let cool. 



316 POULTRY. 

Next, having first skimmed off the fat, put it into a clean saucepan 
with a half cup of cream, th»ee ounces of butter, well mixed with 
one tablespoonful of flour. Keep these stirred until they boil. 
Then put in the fowl, finely minced with three hard-boiled eggs, 
chopped, and sufficient salt and pepper to season. Shake the mince 
over the fire until just ready to boil. Dish it on hot toast, and 
serve. 

To Carve Roast Fowl. 
Insert the knife between the leg and the body, and cut to the 
bone; then turn the leg back with the fork, and, if the bird is not 
old, the joint will give way. The wing is next to be broken off, 
5,;^^^_ »■ and this is done in the direction 

of A to B, only dividing the joint 
with a knife. The four quarters 
w having been removed in this way, 
take off the merry -thought and 
the neck bones; these last are to be removed by putting the knife 
in at C and pressing it, Avhen they will break off from the part that 
sticks to the breast. Next separate the breast from the body of the 
fowl by cutting through the tender ribs close to the breast, quite 
down to the tail. Turn the fowl now back upwards; put the knife 
into the bone midway between the neck and the rump, and on 
raising the lower end it will separate readily. Turn the rump from 
you and take off very neatly the two sidesmen, which completes 
the operation. The breast and wings are considered the best parts 
of a roast fowl, but in young fowls the legs are most juicy. In the 
case of a capon or large fowl, slices may be cut off the breast. 

Croquettes. 
Chop fine any cold pieces of cooked meat or chicken, or whatever 
you may wish to use, first removing all fat, bone, etc. ; add half the 
quantity of fine bread crumbs, one ^^^, pepper and salt; make into 
balls and cook in a buttered spider; serve hot. 





POULTRY. 317 

To Carve Roast Goose. 
Begin by turning the neck end of a goose toward you, and cut- 
ting the whole breast ii. long slices, from one wing to another. 
{See the lines A B,) To tak^ off th' le. , insert the fork in tho 
small end of the bone, pressing it to the body; put the knife in at 
A, turn the leg back, and if ^ 

the bird be young it will 
easily come away; if old, we 
will not answer for it. To 
take off the wing, insert the 
fork in the small end of the 
pinion, and press it close to the body; put the knife in at B and 
divide the joint. When the leg and wing are off one side, attack 
those on the other; but, except when the company is very large, it 
is seldom necessary to cut up the whole goose. The back and lower 
side-bones, as well as the two side-bones of the wings, may be cut 
off; but the best pieces of a goose are the breast and thighs, after 
being separated from the drumstick. Serve a little of the seasoning 
from the inside, by making a circular slice in the apron at C, 
Should there be no stuffing, a glass of wine, a little orange gravy 
or vinegar, may be poured into the body of the goose at the open- 
ing made at the apron by the carver. 

To Boil Goose. 
Pick and singe a goose carefully. Let it soak in lukewarm milk 
ind water for eight or ten hours. Stuff and truss it securely; put 
it into a saucepan with as much cold water as will cover it; bring 
to a boil, and let it simmer gently till lone enough. Send good 
ouxon sauce to the table with it. Time, from an hour to an hour 
and a half after it has boiled. 

Roast Goose. 
Pluck the goose, carefully remove the quill-sockets and singe off 
the hairs; cut off the neck close to the back, leaving the skin long 



318 POULTRY. 

enough to turn over. After drawing, wash and wipe tlie bird hotK 
inside and out, and cut off the feet and jnnions at the first joint; 
pull out the throat and tie the end securely; beat the breast-bone 
. fiat with a rolling-pin; draw the legs up closely, and put a skewer 
through them and through the body; cut off the end of the vent 
and make a hole in the skin large enough for the rump to go 
through. This will prevent the seasoning from escaping. Make a 
stuffing of bread crumbs, onions and potatoes cut fine; season with 
pepper, salt, sage, and butter the size of an egg; fill the goose and 
tie down the wdngs; roast two hours and a half. Boil the liver and 
heart and add to the gravy, which must be thickened wath flour. 
Send to table with apple sauce and mashed potatoes. 

Stuffing with Sage and Onion. 
Boil four large onions until tender; drain them from the water, 
and mince them finely with four resh sage leaves, or six dry ones, 
four tablespoonfuls of bread crumbs, a teaspoonful of salt, a tea- 
spoonful of made mustard, and a teaspoonful of moist sugar, one- 
half teaspoonful of pepper, a large ipple, pared and cored, and a 
quarter of a nutmeg, grated, m y be added, if approved. 

Turkey. 

The turkey is highly esteemed and usually commands a high 
price, especially ::t Christmas, when most extravagant prices are 
often demanded and otained for large and well-fed birds. Turkeys 
are in season from September to March, and are at their best in 
December and January. If the weather is suitable hey should be 
hung nilly a week before being dressed. In very cold weather 
care must be taken that they are nut frozen in hanging, and if this 
is the case, they should be brought into a warm place for some 
hours before being cooked, or they will be spoilt. The hen bird is 
considered the best. 

" The turkey is the largest and, if not the most delicate, at least 
the most savory, of domestic poultry. It enjoys the singular 
advantage of assembling around it every class of society. When 



POULTRY. 319 

oixr farmers regale themselves on a winter's evening, what do we 
see roasting before the kitchen fire, close to which the white-clothed 
table is set ? A turkey. When the useful tradesman or the hard- 
worked artist invites a few friends to an occasional treat, what dish 
is he expected to set before them? A nice roast turkey, stuffed 
with sausage meat and Lvons chestnuts. And in our highest 
gastronomical society, when politics are obliged to give way to 
dissertations on matters of ta'ste, what is desired, what is awaited, 
what is looked out for at the second course? A truffled turkey. 
In my 'Secret Memoirs ' I find sundry notes recording that on many 
occasions its restorative juice has illuminated diplomatic faces of 
the highest eminence." 

Caevin^g of Turkey. 
The breast of a turkey is so large that slices taken neatly from it 
and from the wings generally suffice for all the company. They 
should be taken from each side alternately, beginning close to the 
wings, and a little forcemeat and a small portion of liver should be 
served to each guest. When it is necessary that the legs should be 
used, they should be separated from the body with a sharp knife 
and cut in slices, but it should be remembered that they, with the 
gizzard, will make an excellent devil. 

Boiled Turkey or Capon. 
When the poultry is plucked quite clean and singed, see that it is 
neatly trussed, and, before finally closing the vent, stuff the bird 
inside with as many raw oysters of the best quality as can be pro- 
cured, adding to the same a lump of fresh butter, and a portion of 
bread crumbs from a stale loaf. Remove the turkey or capons into 
a clean cloth, fold them up carefully, place them into a saucepan 
of cold water, and let them boil over a moderately-heated fire until 
they are thoroughly done. Have a stick of white blanched celery 
at hand and chop it up very small; place it in a quart of new milk 
in a saucepan, and let it boil gently with a few black pepper corns, 
till the quantity is reduced to one pint; keep stirring the esculent 



320 POULTRY. 

up with the milk until it assumes the character of a consistent pulp. 
Thicken the whole with the yolk of a fresh egg, well beaten up, 
with half a cup of fresh cream. Have upon the table a sauce-boat 
of strong veal gravy. 

Roast Turkey, 
A young turkey, weighing not more than eight or nine pounds, 
is the best. Wash and clean thoroughly, wiping dry, as moisture 
will spoil the stuffing. Take one small loaf of bread grated fine, 
rub into it a piece of butter the size of an egg, one small teaspoon- 
ful of pepper and one of salt; sage, if liked. Rub all together, and 
fill only the breast of the turkey, sewing up so that the stuffing 
cannot cook out. Always put the giblets under the side of the 
fowl, so they will not dry up. Rub salt and pepper on the outside; 
put into dripping-pan with one cup of water, basting often, and turn- 
ing it till brown all over. Bake about three hours. Have left in the 
chopping-bowl a little stuffing; take out the giblets and chop fine. 
After taking out the turkey, put in a large tablespoonful of flour; 
stir until brown. Put the giblets into a gravy-boat, and pour over 
them the gravy. 

Roast Turkey, No, 2, 
Rinse out the turkey well with soda and water, then with salt, 
lastly with clear water. Stuff with a dressing made of bread 
crumbs, wet up with butter and water and season to your taste. 
Stuff the craw and tie up the neck. Fill the body and sew up the 
vent. We need hardly say that the strings are to be clipped and 
removed after the fowl has been roasted. Tie the legs to the lower 
part of the body that they may not " sprawl " as the sinews shrink. 
Put into the dripping-pan, pour a cup of boiling water over it, and 
roast, basting often, allowing about ten minutes' time for every 
pound. Be careful not to have your oven too hot — especially for 
the first hour or so. The turkey would, otherwise, be dry and 
blackened on the outside and raw within. Much of the perfection 
of roasting poultry depends upon basting faithfully. Boil the 



POULTRY. 321 

giblets tender in a little water. "When the turkey is clone, set it 
where it will keep warm; skim the gravy left in the pan; add a 
little boiling water; thicken slightly with browned flour; boil up 
once and add the giblets minced fine. Season to taste; give another 
boil, and send to table in a gravy-boat. 

Boiled Turkey. 
Stuff the turkey as for roasting. A very nice dressing is mad« 
by chopping half a pint of oysters and mixing them with bread 
crumbs, butter, pepper, salt, thyme, and wet with milk or water. 
Baste about the turkey a thin cloth, the inside of which has been 
dredged with flour, and put it to boil in cold water with a tea» 
spoonful of salt in it. Let a large turkey simmer for three hours. 
Skim while boiling. Serve with oyster sauce, made by adding to o» 
cup of the liquor in which the turkey was boiled the same quantit^f 
of milk and eight oysters chopped fine; season with minced parsley, 
stir in a spoonful of rice or wheat flour wet with cold milk; a table- 
spoonful of butter. Boil up once and pour into a tureen. 

Turkey Dressed with Oysters. 
For a ten-pound turkey take two pints of bread crumbs, half a 
cup of butter cut in bits (not melted), one teaspoonful of powdered 
thyme or summer savory, pepper, salt, and mix thoroughly. Rub 
the turkey well inside and out with salt and pepper, then fill with 
first a spoonful of crumbs, then a few well-drained oysters, using 
half a can for a turkey. Strain the oyster liquor and use to baste 
the turkey. Cook the giblets in the pan, and chop fine for the 
gravy. A fowl of this size will require three hours in a moderate 
oven. 

Deviled Turkey. 

The legs, back, gizzard and rump of cold dressed turkey may be 
used for this dish. Score the meat along in a cross at regular dis- 
tances, three-quarters of an inch apart, and thi*ee-quarters of an 
inch deep. Rub into the gashes a well-mixed seasoning made of a 
saltspoonful of white pepper, a saltspoonful of salt, a quarter of a 



822 POULTRY. 

saltspoonful of Cayenne, and the strained juice of a lemon, and 
cover with freshly-made mustard. Brush the pieces of meat over 
with butter or oil and broil over a clear fire till they are brown and 
crisp without being at all burnt, and turn them over that they may 
be equally .done on both sides. Send to table on hot dish with 
little pieces of butter on them. Dry toast may be served as an 
accompaniment. The devil will be all the more savory if it is pre- 
pared some hours before it is broiled. If liked, half a clove of 
garlic may be minced and mixed with the seasoning. 

Turkey Scallop. 

Pick the meat from the bones of cold turkey, and chop it fine. 
Put a layer of bread crumbs on the bottom of a buttered dish, 
moisten them with a little milk, then put in a layer of turkey with 
some of the filling, and cut small pieces of butter over the top; 
sprinkle with pepper and salt; then another layer of bread crumbs, 
and so on until the dish is nearly full; add a little hot water to the 
gravy left from the turkey, and pour over it. Then take two eggs, 
two tables2:)Oonfuls of milk, one of melted butter, a little salt, and 
cracker crumbs as much as will make it thick enough to spread on 
Vvdth a knife, put bits of butter over it, and cover with a plate. 
Bake three-quarters of an hour. About ten minutes before serving, 
remove the plate and let it brown. 

Plain Stuffing. 

Take stale bread, cut off all the crust, rub very^fine and pour 
over it as much melted butter as will make it crumble in your 
hands; salt and pepper to taste. 

Apple Stuffing. 

Take half a pound of the pulp of tart apples which have been 
baked or scalded: add two ounces of bread crumbs, some powdered 
sage, a finely-shred onion; season well with Cayenne pepper. For 
roast goose, duck, etc. 



POULTRY. 323 

Potato Stuffing. 
Take two-thirds bread and one-third boiled potatoes, grated, 
batter size of an egg, pepper, salt, one egg and a little ground sage; 
mix thoroughly. 

Chestnut Stuffing. 
Boil the chestnuts and shell them; then blanch them and boil 
until soft; mash them fine and mix with a little sweet cream, some 
bread crumbs, pepper and salt. For turkey. 

For other stuffings, see " Forcemeats,^^ 



CHAPTER XXV. 

SALADS. 

Anchovy Salad. 
'ASH six anchovies in water, remove the bones and the insiQ>?s> 
(^l)ffl^ and also the heads, fins, and tails. Put them on a dish with 
two large heads of lettuce, cut small, half a dozen young 
onions, a saltspoonful of chopped parsley, and a sliced lemon. Pour 
over them the juice of a lemon mixed with salad oil, and Hend to 
table. 

Artichoke Salad. 

Wash thoroughly and quarter some very young artichokes, and 
serve them with salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil. They make a nice 
relish. 

Beetroot Salad. 

To some nicely-boiled and well-sliced beetroot, lay alternate rows 
of onions, also sliced, and pour over them any salad sauce, or 
simply oil and vinegar. Garnish with curled parsley. 

Celery Salad. 
Cut nice blanched salad very small. Wash clean and dry it: 
pour over it a Mayonnaise sauce {See Savory Sauces), or any salad 
dressing, and garnish with green celery leaves. 

Chicken Salad. 

Use the white meat of two good-sized chickens, and celery 
enough to make the proportion one-tliird chicken and two-thirds 
celery; boil ten eggs hard, rub the yolks perfectly smooth with a 
silver spoon, adding gradually four tablespoon fuls of olive oil, one 



SALADS. 325 

tablespoonful of made mustard, two teaspoonfuls of salt, one tea- 
spoonful of black pepper, half a teaspoonful of Cayenne pepper, 
and one tablespoonful of sugar; add sweet cream by degrees until 
^bout the consistency of batter. Just before sending to the table, 
mix the dressing with the chicken and celery, and moisten with 
sharp vinegar. The juice of two lemons is an improvement. 

Chicken Salad, No. 2. 

Boil the white meat of two large chickens; cut it coarse, and 
add the white part of celery, cut coarse; a little more chicken than 
celery. 

Dressing. — Three yolks of eggs, well beaten; one pint of oil 
-added drop by drop, and beaten; the juice of two lemons, one tea- 
spoonful of dry mustard, a little Cayenne pepper, a little salt. If 
not moist enough, beat the whites of two eggs and add to it. 

Cabbage Salad. 
To a dish of chopped cabbage, four teaspoonfuls of celery seed^ 
or one bunch of celery. Put in a bowl, yolks of two eggs, one tea- 
spoonful of sugar, one teaspoonful of butter, one teaspoonful of 
pepper, one teaspoonful of salt, one teaspoonful of made mustard, 
one-half cup of vinegar. Set the bowl into hot water, and stir care- 
fully until it begins to thicken. Let it get cold, and pour over the 
cabbage. If it does not moisten it enough, put in a little more 
vinegar. 

Fish Salad. 

This consists of cold fish of any kind, mixed with well-dried 
•salad, pickled gherkins, or any other green pickle. Oysters or 
shrimps may be added to the other fish, which should be separated 
neatly into flakes, and the whole moistened with a salad dressing. 
<jrarnish with some slices of lemon and parsley. 

Hot Egg Salad. 
Put a tablespoonful of salad oil in a pan and let it get hot. 
Break in three eggs; stir a little with r fork, but not enough to 



326 SALADS. 

mix the yolks and whites; these should be kept separate. Put the 
eggs out on a dish, and put over them a tablespoonful of chopped 
pickle and a tablespoonful of grated lemon rind. Make a salad 
dressing of one tablespoonful of lemon-juice, three of salad oil, a 
saltspoonful of salt, and one-quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper. 
Much of the niceness of this salad depends on its being served hot. 

Endive with Winter Salad. 

An ornamental and wholesome dish of salad may be made in 
winter principally by the aid of this plant. Only a little cress, 
celery, and beetroot will be necessary to form a striking contrast to 
the crisp, blanched leaves of the endive, which may be arranged 
(eti bouquet) in the centre, or interspered with other materials, 
through the dish. Endive may be had good from November till 
March. 

Lettuce Salad. 

Wash and dry nice leaves of lettuce, and pour over a salad 
dressing, and garnish with slices of hard-boiled eggs. 

Lettuce Salad, No. 2. 

Wash, dry, and shred nice leaves of lettuce, and put them in a 
salad bowl. Cut four ounces of bacon into dice; fry these with a 
tinely-minced onion, and do not allow them to burn, add a little- 
salt, if needed, half a teaspoonful of pepper, a tablespoonful of 
vinegar; pour all over the lettuce and mix thoroughly. Serve 
immediately. 

Lobster Salad. 

Pick the meat from the body of a lobster, take out the tail part 
in one piece, and cut it, with the contents of the claws, into slices 
a quarter of an inch thick. Chop the whites of two hard-boiled 
eggs small, and rub the yolks smooth. Do the same with the spawn 
or coral of the lobster, but mix the soft part and any bits with the 
sauce. Pour the sauce into the bowl, put in a layer of shred lettuce 
and small salad, and place the slices of lobster, witn nard-boiled eggs 



SALADS. 327 

quartered aud interspersed, with sliced beetroot, cucumber, etc., on 
the top. Repeat in the same manner till the bowl is full, sprinkling 
the egg and coral over and between the layers. To ornament, 
reserve some of the hard-boiled eggs, yolks and whites, arrange 
these with the coral, beetroot, and sliced lobster, so that the colors 
may contrast well. Before serving, pour some Mayonnaise sauce 
over the top. 

Game Salad. 

Take the remains of cold cooked game, pick up fine, and cover 
with a dressing made as follows: Take the yolk of a hard-boiled 
egg and mix it smoothly with a tablespoonf ul of salad oil ; stir in a 
little salt and pepper, a little made mustard, a dessertspoonful of 
walnut catsup, and three dessertspoonfuls of vinegar. 

Oeange Salad. 
A very simple dish made of tart oranges. Some peeled and 
sliced and some sliced unpeeled, garnished with one tablespoonful 
of lemon-juice, three tablespoonf uls of salad oil and a little Cayenne 
pepper. This is a nice dish for breakfast, or with game or cold 
meats. The oil, lemon, juice and pepper should be mixed in a dish 
and poured over the oranges. 

Potato Salad. 

Take some cold boiled potatoes and slice very thin; add to them 
three hard-boiled eggs, also sliced thin; chop one small, fresh onion. 
In a glass bowl or salad dish jjut a layer of potatoes, then a layer of 
eggs, and sprinkle over them a little chopped onion, salt and pep- 
per. For dressing, take the yolk of a raw egg and stir into it half 
a teaspoonf ul of made mustard. Beat into it, drop by drop, three 
tablespoonf uls of sweet cream; add one tablespoonful of strong 
vinegar and the white of the egg beaten to a stiff froth. If needed 
for supper make at noontime. Flakes of cold boiled salmon, cod, 
or halibut, substituted for the eggs, or added with them, will 
improve the salad. 



328 SALADS. 

Salmon Salad. 
One can of fresh salmon, four bunches of celery; chop as for 
chicken salad; mix with the salmon, and pour salad dressing over it. 

Summer Salad. 

Cut up a pound of cold beef into thin slices, and half a pound of 
white, fresh lettuce; put in a salad bowl, season with a teaspoonful 
of salt, half that quantity of pepper, two tablespoonfuls of vinegar, 
and four of good salad oil. Stir all together lightly with a fork 
and spoon, and when well mixed it is ready to serve. Chaptal, a 
French chemist, says the dressing of a salad should be saturated 
with oil, and seasoned with pepper and salt, before the vinegar is 
added; it results from this process that there can never be too much 
vinegar, for, from the specific gravity of the vinegar compared 
with the oil, what is more than useful will fall to the bottom of the 
bowl, the salt should not be dissolved in the vinegar, but in the oil, 
by which means it is more equally distributed throughout the salad. 

Russian Salad. 

Any three kinds of vegetables may be used — carrots, turnips 
and beets; string beans, carrots and turnips; or carrots, turnips 
and parsnips. The vegetables should be cut in slices about one 
and a half inches thick. These slices should be cut into cylin- 
der-shaped pieces. This could be done with an apple-corer or with 
a knife. These pieces should be put in dishes, keeping each vege- 
table separate. As they are cut throw the pieces into cold water; 
take from the cold water and put into boiling water containing a 
spoonful of salt to a quart of water. Boil each vegetable by itself 
and boil until tender; drain off the juice and put the pieces into 
cold water until they are thoroughly cold. They are then ready to 
use for the salad. Beets must not be peeled or cut. When boiled 
tender the skins should be taken off by rubbing in a towel as soon 
as cool enough to handle, and then cut in pieces like the other 
vegetables. The pieces left after cutting out what is wanted can 



SALADS. 329 

be saved by putting them in cold salt water. Pease, beans*, &} inach, 
and all vegetables, can be kept green by boiling and putting them 
in salt cold water until wanted to use. The dressing for the 
Russian salad is made plain, like that of orange salad, being a table- 
spoonful of lemon-juice or vinegar, three tablespoonfuls of salad 
oil, salt and Cayenne pepper. It is best not to put on the dressing 
until ready to serve. 

Sidney Smith's Receipt for Salad Dressing. 
Two boiled potatoes, strained through a kitchen sieve^ 
Softness and smoothness to the salad give; 
Of mordant mustar ^ take a single spoon — 
Distrust the condiment that bites too soon; 
Yet deem it not, though man of taste, a fault, 
To add a double quantity of salt. 
Four times the spoon, with oil of Lucca crown, 
And twice with vinegar procured from town; 
True taste requires it, and your poet begs 
The pounded yellow of two well-boiled eggs. 
Let onion atoms lurk within the bowl, 
And, scarce suspected, animate the whole; 
And lastly, in the flavored compound toss 
A magic teaspoonful of anchovy sauce. 
Oh, great and glorious! oh, herbaceous meat! 
'Twould tempt the dying anchorite to eat; 
Back to the world he'd turn his weary soul, 
And jalunge his fingers in the salad bowl. 

Vegetables and Salads. 
Upon the washing of green vegetables for salads much of their 
excellence depends; they should be shaken about without breaking 
in a large pan of cold water well salted, since the action of the salt 
will destroy all the minute inhabitants of their fresh green coverts, 
and, once dead, from sheer force of gravity they will fall to the 
bottom of the water. When the salad plants are free from sand 



330 SALADS. 

and insects they should be shaken without breaking theii* leaves, in 
a colander, a wire basket, or a dry napkin until no moisture adheres 
to them; then they may be used at once or kept until wanted in a 
very cold, dark j)lace. 

Water- CRESS Salad. 
Gather the water-cress when young, cleanse it thoroughly in salt 
and water, and serve as fresh as possible. Place it in a bowl, either 
alone or mixed with other salad plants, and toss in lightly a simple 
salad sauce. When served at breakfast, water-cress is best sent to 
the table as it is, fresh and crisp. 

Salad Dressing. 
Take half a pint of vinegar and let it get hot; then beat up two 
eggs, half a tablespoonful of flour, half a tablespoonful of sugar, 
y one teaspoonful of mustard, a little salt and pepper, and four table- 

spoonfuls of melted butter; stir this in the vinegar and let the 
whole boil up till it is like custard, then mix it with whatever you 
iave for a salad. It is good for potatoes, meat or fish. 

Salad Dressing, No. 2. 
Yolks of two hard-boiled eggs, rubbed vei'y fine and smooth, one 
teaspoonful English mustard, one of salt, the yolks of two raw eggs 
beaten into the other, dessertspoonful of fine sugar. Add very 
fresh sweet oil, poured in by very small quantities, and beaten as 
long as the mixture continues to thicken; then add vinegar till as 
thin as desired. If not hot enough with mustard, add a little 
Cayenne pepper. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

Soups. 
HERE is no part of cookery which is so imperfectly understood 
by ordinary cooks as the j^reparation of a soup. Amongst 
the wealthy it is considered a necessity, and, as a matter of 
course, forms part of the dinner. Amongst the middle classes it is 
more usually served than it used to be, and is, year by year, 
increasingly appreciated; but amongst the lower classes it is all 
but scorned; and mistresses of small households will testify that 
the maid-of -all-work, who, when at home is half starved instead of 
being properly fed, will consider herself most hardly used if part of 
the provision of the day's dinner consists of a portion of wholesome 
soup. This opinion is, of course, a sign of ignorance. Soup is both 
nourishing and wholesome, and it may also be prepared economi- 
cally. With attention and a little trouble, it may be made from 
very inexpensive materials, and considering that when soup has 
been served, smaller inroads are made into the joint, the frugal 
housekeeper who has once calculated the difference in cost of a din- 
ner consisting of an economically made soup, meat and vegetables, 
and one of meat and vegetables only, will never object to the 
introduction of soup at her table on account of the expense. Soup 
may be made of a large variety of different articles, including meat 
of all kinds, bones, game, and poultry; fish, shell-fish, all kinds of 
vegetables, herbs, and farinaceous articles, milk, eggs, etc. The 
basis of all soup is stock. Instructions in making this will be 
found in its proper place, and it will, therefore, not be considered 

331 



332 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

here. Directions for making vai-ious souj^s will be found under 
their several headings; nevertheless, it may be found useful if a 
few rules of universal application are here given as an assistance in 
their manufacture. 

There are three kinds of soups — celery soup, thick soup and 
pui'ees. A puree is made by rubbing the ingredients of which it is 
composed through a sieve. A thick soup is stock thickened by the 
addition of various thickening ingredients. These soups are best 
suited to the winter season. Clear soup is thin and bright, and 
adapted for use in the summer months. In making soup it is most 
important that every culinary article used should be perfectly clean. 
The inside of the covers of saucepans, the rims and the handles 
particularly require attention. The lid of the saucepan should 
never be removed over a smoky fire. The meat used should be 
freshly killed, and should be as lean as it can be procured; it should 
never be washed. The bones should be broken up into small pieces. 
Cold water should be put upon fresh meat and bones; boiling water 
(a small quantity at a time) upon meat or vegetables that have been 
fried or browned. As it is very important that no fatty jjarticles 
should be left to float on the surface of the soup, this should be 
made, if possible, the day before it is wanted, so that the fat may 
be removed after it has grown cold. Soup should be simmered very 
softly till it is done enough. A large fire and quick boiling are the 
great enemies of good soup. In flavoring soup, the cook should be 
careful to add the seasoning ingredients in moderation and grad- 
ually, es2:)ecially such things as garlic, onions, shallots, spices, herbs, 
salt and Cayenne. An overdose of salt has sj^oilt many a dish of 
soup, while a deficiency thereof has again and again nullified the 
effect of the most delicate combination of fiavors. As a general 
rule, two ounces of salt will suftice for a gallon of soup stewed with 
large quantities of vegetables; an ounce and a half only M'ill be 
needed if the vegetables are omitted, or if a small quantity only is 
used. It should be remembered that salt and all seasonings can be 
added when they cannot be taken out. For flavoring purposes, 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 333 

aromatic seasoning of herbs, and spices, and herb-powders for 
flavoring soups, will be found of great use. Whatever ingredients 
are added to soup, whether farinaceous articles, such as rice, ver- 
micelli, macaroni, etc., or vegetables, all should be partially boiled 
in plain water before they are put into the liquor. This will insure 
their being perfectly clean and bi'ight. The flavor of rich brown 
soups will be brought out better if a small piece of sugar be added 
to it. This must not be used for white soups. Cream or milk, 
when put with soups, should be boiled separately, strained, and 
added boiling. If, instead of cream, milk and the yolk of an egg 
are used, the egg must on no account be boiled in the liquor. 
Either it must be mixed thoroughly with a little of the soup which 
has cooled for a minute, then be stirred into the rest, or, better 
still, it must be put into the soup tureen, a spoonful of the soup 
mixed with the milk stirred into it, and the rest added gradually. 
If soups are to be kept for a few days they should be boiled up 
every day, according to the state of the weather, put into freshly- 
scalded dry earthenware crocks or pans and kept in a cool place; 
cover with a piece of gaiize. Soup should never be kept in metal 
I'essels. 

Stock. 
Stock is the basis of all meat sauces, soups and purees. It is 
really the juice of meat extracted by long and gentle simmering, 
and in making it, it should be remembei-ed that the object to be 
aimed at is to draw the goodness of the material out into the liquor. 
It may be prepared in vai-ious Avays, richly and expensively, or 
economically. All general stock, or stock which is to be used for 
miscellaneous purposes, should be simply made, that is, all flavoring 
ingredients should be omitted entirely until its use is decided upon. 
The stock will then keep longer than it would do if vegetables, 
herbs, and spices were boiled in it, besides which the flavoring can 
be adapted to its special pui-pose. To ensure its keeping, stocks 
should be boiled and skimmed every day in summer, and every 
other day in winter. The pan and lid used in making it should be 



334 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

scrupulously clean. A tinned iron pan is the best for the purpose. 
Those who wish to j^ractice economy should procure a digester, 
which is a kind of stock-pot made with the object of retaining the 
goodness of tlie materials, and preventing its escape by steam, 
when ready stock should be kept in an earthenware vessel, and 
never allowed to cool in a metal pan. Before being used, skim off 
all fat. Excellent stock is constantly made with the bones and 
trimmings of meat and poultry, with the addition or not of a little 
fresh meat, or a portion of extract of meat. In a house where meat 
is regularly used, a good cook will never be without a little stock. 
Broken remnants of all kinds will find their way to the stock-pot, 
and will not be thrown away until, by gentle stewing, they have 
been made to yield to the utmost whatever of flavor and goodness 
they possessed. When fresh meat is used it is better for being 
freshly killed. The liquor in which fresh meat has been boiled 
should always be used as stock. 

Bean Soup. 
Soak one and a half pints of beans in cold water over night. In 
the morning drain off the water, wash the beans in fresh water and 
put them into a soup kettle with four quarts of good beef stock, 
from which all the fat has been removed. Set it where it will boil 
slowly but steadily until dinner, or three hours at the least. Two 
hours before dinner slice in an onion and a carrot. Some think it 
improved by adding a little tomato. If the beans are not liked 
whole, strain through a colander and send to the table hot. 

Asparagus Soup. 
Select about two dozen of good asparagus stalks; boil these 
thoroughly in enough water to cover them; a quarter of an onion 
boiled with the asparagus is an improvement. When tender, take 
the asparagus out of the water, saving the water, and removing the 
onion; cut the asparagus into small pieces, of course only the 
tender part, and put them in a mortar, adding a little of the water; 
must be pounded until perfectly smooth; now take some sifted 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 335 

flour, a dessertspoonful, a bit of butter as big as an egg, and z very 
little pulverized sugar; mix well, and then put on the fire until it 
melts, stirring all the time; add this to the pounded asparagus and 
the rest of the water; when it has boiled a tew minutes, mix the 
yolk of one egg with a tumblerful of cream, and add this; if 
I^roperly made, it wants no straining; use salt and pepper to taste, 
and a very little nutmeg; one stalk of asparagus may be left, which 
may be cut in thin slices, and added last. 

Beef Soup. 
Boil a soup bone about four hours; then take out meat into a 
chopping-bowl; put the bones back into the kettle. Slice very thin 
one small onion, six potatoes, and three turnips into the soup; boil 
until all are tender. Have at least one gallon of soup when done. 
It is improved by adding crackers, rolled, or noodles, just before 
taking off. Take the meat that has been cut from the bones, chop 
fine while warm, season with salt and pepper, add one cup of soup, 
saved out before putting in the vegetables; pack in a dish, and slice 
down for tea or lunch when cold. 

CoMMOx Soup. 
Take shank or neck of beef or meat of fowls; cut fine; crack the 
bones; put in a pot and stew slowly several hours, until all the 
meats are cooked to shreds. Pour on a little boiling water and 
keep boiling until nearly ready to serve; skim off all grease; add 
vegetables, potatoes, carrots, barley or rice as you may prefer — the 
vegetables having been previously cooked by themselves — and then 
add a little butter to give it richness. 

Clam Soup. 
Select five large, plump clams, and after chopping them finely; 
add the liquor to the meat. To every dozen allow a quart of cold 
water, and, putting meat, liquor and water into a clean vessel, allow 
them to simmer gently, but not boil, about one and one-half hours. 
Every particle of meat should be so well cooked that you seem to 



336 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

have only a thick broth. Season to taste aud pour into a tureen in 
which a few slices of well-browned toast have been placed. If 
desired, to every two dozen of clams allow a cup of new milk and 
one egg. Beat the latter very light, add slowly the milk, beat 
hard a minute or so, and when the soup is removed from the fire, 
stir the egg and milk into it. 

Corn Soup. 
Twelve ears of corn scraped and the cobs boiled twenty minutes 
in one quart of water. Remove the cobs and put in the corn and 
boil fifteen minutes, then add two quarts of rich milk. Season with 
salt, pepper and butter, and thicken with two tablespoonfuls of 
fioiir. Boil the whole ten minutes and turn into a tureen in which 
the yolks of three eggs have been well beaten. 

French Vegetable Soup. 
To a leg of lamb of moderate size take four quarts of water. Of 
carrots, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cabbage and turnips, take a cup 
each, chopped fine; salt and pepper to taste. Let the lamb be 
boiled in this water. Let it cool; skim off all fat that rises to the 
top. The next day boil again, adding the chojjped vegetables. 
Let it boil three hours the second day. 

Egg Soup. 
Boil a leg of lamb about two hours in water enough to cover it. 
A-fter it has boiled about an hour and when carefully skimmed, add 
one-half cup of rice, and pepper and salt to taste. Have ready in 
your tureen two eggs well beaten; add the boiling soup, a little at 
a time, stirring constantly. Serve the lamb with drawn butter, 
garnished with parsley and hard-boiled eggs cut into slices. 

Chicken Soup. 

Boil a pair of chickens with great care, skimming constantly and 

keeping them covered with water. When tender, take out the 

chicken and remove the bone. Put a large lump of butter into a 

spider, dredge the chicken meat well with flour, and lay in the hot 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 337 

pan; fry a nice brown, and keep hot and dry. Take a pint of the 
chicken Avater, and stir in two large spoonfuls of curry powder, two 
of butter and one of flour, one teaspoonful of salt and a little Cay- 
enne; stir until smooth, then mix it with the broth in the pot. 
When well mixed, simmer five minutes, then add the browned 
chicken. Serve with rice. 

Cabbage Soup. 

Put into your soup kettle a couple of pounds of sweet bacon or 
pork that has not been too long in salt. Add, if you like, a bit of 
knuckle of veal, or mutton, or beef, or all thx-ee; skim well as they 
come to a boil. Shred into a pail of cold water the hearts of one 
or two cabbages, some carrots, turnips, celery and leeks. When 
the soup boils, throw all these in. When the vegetables are tender 
without falling to pieces, the soup is done. You may thicken vith 
a few mashed, boiled potatoes. Simmer tht meat two hours before 
adding the vegetables. 

Green Pea Soup. 

Boil a pint of green pease in water with salt, a head of lettuce, 
an onion, a carrot, a few leaves of mint, and a strip of parsley, some 
pepper and salt to taste, and a lumjj of sugar. When thoroughly 
done, strain off the liquor and pass the pease, etc., through a hair 
sieve; add as much of the liquor as will bring it to the right con- 
sistency; put the soup in a saucepan with a small pat of fresh 
butter; let it boil up, and serve with dice-shaped bread fried in 
butter. 

Gumbo Soup. 

Cut up a pair of good-sized chickens, as for a fricassee; flour 
them well, and put into a pan with a good-sized piece of butter, 
and fry a nice brown; then lay them in a soup-pot, pour on three 
quarts of hot water, and let them simmer slowly for two hours. 
Braid a little flour and butter together for a thickening, ard stir in 
a little pepper and salt. Strain a quart or three pints of oyster©, 

22 



338 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

and add the juice to the soup. Next add four or five slices of cola 
boiled ham, and let all boil slowly together for ten minutes. Just 
before you take up the soup, stir in two large spoonfuls of finely- 
powdered sassafras leaves, and let it simmer five minutes, then add 
your oysters. If you have no ham, it is very nice without it. Serve 
in a deep dish, and garnish the dish with rice. 

Plain Gumbo Soup. 
Take a piece of ham half the size of your hand, and a knuckle of 
veal} put them in a pot with two quarts of cold water; simmer 
«lowly two or three hours, then add two quarts of boiling water. 
Twenty minutes before serving, put in one small can of okra and as 
»aany oysters as you please. Season to taste. 

Lobster Soup. 
One large lobster; pick all the meat from the shell and chop fine; 
lake one quart of milk and one pint of water, and, when boiling, 
add the lobster, nearly a pound of butter, salt and pepper to taste, 
4ind a tablespoonf ul of flour. Boil ten minutes. 

Macaroni Soup. 

Six pounds of beef put into four quarts of water, with one large 
onion, one carrot, one turnip, and a head of celery, and boiled three 
or four hours slowly. Next day take off the grease and pour into 
the soup-kettle, season to taste wnth salt, and add a pint of macaroni 
broken into small pieces, and two tablespoonf uls of tomato catsup. 
Half to three-quarters of an hour will be long enough to boil the 
second day. 

Macaroni, or Vermicelli Soup. 

Two small carrots, four onions, two turnips, two cloves, one 
tablespoonf ul salt; pepper to taste. Herbs — marjoram, parsley and 
thyme; any cooked or uncooked meat. Put the soup bones in 
enough water to cover them; when they boil, skim them and add 
the vegetables. Simmer three or four hours, then strain through 
a colander and put back in the saucepan to re-heat. Boil one-half 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 339 

pound of macaroni until quite tender, and place m the soup tureen, 
and pour the soup over it — the last thing. Vermicelli will only- 
need to be soaked a short time — not boiled. 

Mock Terrapin Soup. 
For the mock terrapin soup, take one and one-fourth pounds of 
calf's liver and put in salt boiling water for half an hour; add small 
herbs, one-half dozen grains of pepper, one teaspoonful of cloves, a 
few slices of onion, carrot, etc. When the vegetables are done, 
take them out and mash by putting them through, a colander 
or sieve. Make a Spanish sauce of salt pork or bacon, fried 
enough to get the fat out of it; put into the fat a little slice of 
onion, a little celery, one-half dozen peppers, one-half cup of tomato, 
and cook brown. Take a teaspoonful of salad oil, a yolk of a hard- 
boiled egg, dust of Cayenne pepper, roll to paste, and make into 
small, round balls ; put these into Spanish sauce, then put the sauce 
into the soup. When they come to the top, skim them out. Put 
in the tureen a glass of wine and slice of lemon, and 2)our in the 
soup; then cut the calf's liver into small bits and add it. 

Mock Turtle Soup. 
Clean a calf's head well and let it stand in salt and water two or 
three hours; then soak it in fresh water. Put it to boil in cold 
water, and when sufficiently cooked, separate the meat from the 
bone. Strain the broth, cut the meat in small pieces, and add it to 
tUfe broth; season with salt and Worcester sauce, both of which are 
particularly suited to this soup. Next take one pound of suet, and 
two pounds of veal, chopped fine, with sufficient bread crumbs. Sea- 
soning as above, make some forcemeat balls and fry them in butter; 
chop three hard-boiled eggs fine, add these and a glass of wine. 

Mutton Soup. 
Boil a leg of mutton from two to thi-ee hours, and season with 
salt, pejjper and about a tablespoonful of summer savory rubbed 
fine; add rice or noodles as desired. 



640 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

Mushroom Soup. 
Take a good qiiantity of mushrooms, cut off the earthy end, and 
pick and wash them. Stew them Avith some butter, pepper, and 
salt in a little good stock till tender; take them out, and chop them 
up quite small; prepare a good stock as for any other soup, and 
add it to the mushrooms and the liquor they have been stewed in. 
Boil all together and serve. If white soup be desired, use tha 
white button mushrooms and a good veal stock, adding a spoonful 
of cream or a little milk, as the color may require. 

Noodles for Soup. 
Beat one egg light; add a pinch of salt, and flour enough to makt, 
a stiff dough; roll out in a very thin sheet, dredge with flour tG 
keep from sticking, then roll up tightly. Begin at one end and 
shave down fine, like cabbage for slaw. 

Okra Gumbo. 
Cut one chicken; wash, dry and flour it thoroughly; salt and 
pepper; fry very brown in a skillet with a lump of lard large as an 
egg. Put it into your soup kettle with five quarts of water; add 
one onion cut up, and let it boil two hours; add two dozen okra 
pods, and let it boil another hour. Season to taste and serve with 
rice. 

Ox-Tail Soup. 
Take two tails, wash, and put into a kettle with about one gallon 
of cold water and a little salt ; skim off the broth. When the meat 
is well cooked, take out the bones, and add a little onion, carrot 
and tomatoes. It is better made the day before using, so that the 
fat can be taken from the top. Add vegetables next day, and boil 
an hour and a half longer. 

Oyster Soup. 
Two quarts of oysters, three pints of new milk, three ounces oi 
butter, one and one-half ounces of flour, salt and pepper to taste.. 



SOUPS. SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 341 

and mace, if liked. Put the milk over boiling water; drain the 
oysters and put the liquor in a saucepan on the stove; wash the 
oysters and remove every particle of shell that may adhere to them. 
When the milk is hot add the butter and flour, rubbed smoothly 
together and thinned with a little of the milk; let it cook, stirring 
slowly, until slightly thickened; the liquoi-, which must be well 
Ijoiled, skimmed and hot, may then be added, and after that, the 
^drained oysters. As soon as they are well puffed and the edges 
somewhat curled, serve the souj:). Half a pint of rich cream is a 
great improvement and may be used instead of the butter. Serve 
with them a plate of small crackers, crisped in the oven. 

Potato Soup. 

Boil a half dozen potatoes, and mash thoroughly, mixing with it 
a quart of stock, seasoning with salt and pepper; boil it for five 
minutes, removing scum; add to this a tumblerful of milk last, and 
-serve after the soup has come again to the boil; must be perfectly 
«raooth. 

Turkey Soup. 

Take the turkey bones and boil three-quarters of an hour in 
^vater enough to cover them; add a little summer savory and celery 
chopped fine. Just before serving, thicken with a little flour 
(browned), and season with pepper, salt, and a small piece of 
butter. 

Southern Gumbo Fela. 
Take an onion and cut it up fine; have the lar\ quite hot, then 
<lrop the onion in and let it fry a light brown; dust in two table- 
spoonfuls of flour and stir all the time to keep from burning, and in 
a few minutes it will be brown; pour in boiling water as much as 
will serve the family, allowing for boiling down; have a nice fat 
chicken cut up, put it in the pot and let it boil until tender; take fifty 
oysters from th liquor and strain it to remove all pieces of shell; 
put the liquor iii a stewpan, let it boil up once, then skim and put 
the liquor in the pot, season with salt, black and red pepper, ^Iso a 



342 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

small piece of garlic; after letting it boil some time, add the 
oysters; take two tablespoonfuls of fela and dust in, stirring all the 
time; as soon as it boils once it is ready to serve; always serve with 
boiled rice. 

Fela is prepared by our Indians, and is simply the young leaves 
of the sassafras, dried in the shade, and pulverized with a few 
leaves of the sweet bay. In the summer, young okra pods are 
used in place of fela. 

Tomato Soup. 

Seven good-sized tomatoes to two quarts of milk; stew and sea- 
son tomatoes highly with salt and pepper; have the milk hot; break 
into it a few crackers; stir in a large lump of butter; pour into a 
tureen, and just as you take to the table, add tomatoes, mixing 
them well together. 

Tomato Soup, No. 2. 
One quart of tomatoes, one onion, two ounces of flour, four ounces 
of butter, two tablespoonfuls of sugar, two of salt, one-third of a. 
teaspoonful of Cayenne peppei', three pints or water, one-half i^int 
of milk. Boil the tomatoes and onion in water for three-quar- 
ters of an hour. Add salt, pepper, sugar, butter, and flour; rub 
smoothly together like thin cream; boil ten minutes; boil milk 
separately. When both are boiling, pour the milk into the toma- 
toes, to prevent curdling. Serve with squares of toasted bread. 

Green Turtle SotjP, 
A glass of Madeira, two onions, bunch of sweet herbs, juice of 
one lemon, five quarts of water. Chop up the coarser parts of the 
turtle meat with the entrails and bones. Add to them four quarts- 
of water, and stew four hours with the herbs, onions, pepper and 
salt. Stew very slowly, but do not let it cease to boil during this 
time. At the end of four hours strain the soup, and add the finer 
parts of the turtle and the green fat, which has been simmered for 
one hour in two quarts of Avater. Thicken with browned flour; 
return to the soup-pot, and simmer gently an hour longer. If there; 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. :i43 

are eggs in tlie turtle, boil them in a separate vessel for four hours, 
and throw into the soup before taking it up. If not, put :n force- 
meat balls; then the juice of the lemon and wine; beat up once and 
pour out. Some cooks add the finer meat before straining, boiling 
all together for five hours; then strain, thicken, and put in the 
green fat, cut into lumps an inch long. This makes a handsomer 
soup than if the meat is left in. For the mock eggs, take the yolks 
of three hard-boiled eggs, and one raw egg well be{*ten. Rub the 
boiled eggs into a paste with a teaspoonful of butter, bind with a 
raw egg, roll into pellets the size and shape of turtle eggs, and li*y 
in boiling water for two minutes before dropping into the souj: 

Soyer's Cheap Soups. 
Soyer, in his "Culinary Campaign," has given reci^tes foi m'^King 
palatable soups, which he says will not cost moi-e vhan u ^ent a 
quart in London. Here is one of them: Take two oancey <,( drip- 
ping, quarter of a pound of solid meat, cut into pieces t ae inch 
square; quarter of a pound of onions, sliced thin; same ol tui-nips 
(the peel will do) or a whole one cut into slices; two ounce; of leeks 
(green tops will do) sliced thin; three ounces of celeiy; three* 
quarters of a pound of common flour; half a pound of pearl barley, 
or one pound of Scotch; three ounces of salt; quarter of an ounce 
of brown sugar; two gallons of water. First put two ounces of 
dripping into a saucepan capable of holding tAvo gallons of water, 
with a quarter of a pound of leg-beef without bo le, cut intc 
square pieces of about an inch; and two middling-s'zed onions/ 
peeled and sliced; then set the saucepan over the fire, und stir the 
contents around for a few minutes witli a wooden or iron spoon 
until fried lightly brown. Have then I'eady washed the peelings of 
two turnips, fifteen green leaves or tops of celery, and the green 
part of two leeks (the whole of which, I must observe, are always 
thrown away). Having cut the above vegetable into small pieces, 
throw them into the saucepan with the other ingredients, stirring 
them occasionally over the fire for another ten minutes; then add 
one quart of cclo Avatcr and three-quarters of a pound of com- 



344 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

*ion flour, and half a pound of pearl barley, mixing all well together; 
then add seven quarts of hot water, seasoned with three ounces 
)f salt, and a quarter of an ounce of brown sugar, stiiTing occasion- 
ully until boiling, and allowing it to simmer gently for three hours; 
at the end of which time the barley will be perfectly tender. The 
above soup has been tasted by numerous noblemen, members of 
Parliament, and several ladies, who have lately visited my kitchen 
department, and who have considered it very good and nourishing. 
The soup will keep several days when made as above described; 
but I must observe, not to keep it in a deep pan, but within a flat 
vessel, when the air could act freely upon it. Stir it now and then 
until nearly cold, or otherwise the next day it will be in a state of 
fermentation. This does not denote the weakness of the soup, 
because the same evil exists in the strongest of stock, or sauce, if 
not stirred or confined in a warm place — a fact known to every 
first-rate cook. The expense may come to three farthings per quart 
in London; but as almost every thing can be had at less cost in the 
country, the price of the soup will be still more reduced. In that 
case, a little additional meat might be added. By giving with this 
a, small portion of bread or biscuit, better support would be given 
to the poor at a trifling cost; and no one, it is to be hoped, here 
after, would hear of the dreadful calamity of starvation. 

Soup, No. 2. — Same Cost. 
Quarter of a pound of beef cut into pieces one inch square; two 
ounces of dripping, or melted suet, quarter of a pound of turnips, 
or carrots, cut into fragments half an inch square, four drops 
essence of meat, one and a half pounds of maize flour, three ounces 
of salt, quarter ounce of brown sugar, one teaspoonful of black 
pepper, ground fine. Take two ounces of either drippings, Amer- 
ican lard, or suet, to which add the turnips and carrots ; fry for ten 
minutes; add one quart of cold water, and the meal, well mixed, 
and moisten by degrees with seven quarts of hot water; boil five 
hours, and season with three ounces of salt, one-quarter ounce ol 
brown sugar, one teaspoonful of black pepper, two drops of essence 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 345 

of garlic, one drop of essence of mint, a little celery; stir quickly, 
and serve directly. 

By adding a pound of potatoes to this, a superior soup will be 
the result. 

Aspic Jelly for Garnishing. 

Take two pints of nicely-flavored stock, of a clear, firm jelly; 
put this into a saucepan with a blade of mace, a tablespoonful of 
vinegar and a glass of sherry. Let it boil; then stir into an ounce 
of the best gelatine, which has been soaked in a little cool water. 
When again cool, add the whisked whites of two eggs; let it boil; 
then set back to settle; strain through a jelly-bag until quii,«^ clear, 
and pour it on a dish which has been standing in cold water Cut 
it into dice for garnishing. 

Aspic Jelly, Stock. 

Put a knuckle-bone of veal, a knuckle-bone of ham, a calf's foot, <* 
large onion with four cloves stuck in, one large carrot, and a bunch 
of savory herbs, in two quarts of water, and boil gently till it is 
reduced rather more than half; strain, and put it aside to cool. 
Yery carefully remove every particle of fat or sediment, and place 
the jelly in a saucepan with a glass of white wine, a tablespoonful 
of vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and the Avhites of two eggs; 
keep stirring until it nearly boils, which may be known by its 
becoming white; then draw it back and let it simmer gently for 
fifteen or twenty minutes; put on the cover, let it stand to settle, 
and strain through a jelly-bag until it is quite clear. Put it into a 
mold. 

Bechamel Sauce. 

As white stock is the foundation of this sauce, it must be pre- 
pared first. Boil down an old fowl, two or three pounds of the 
knuckles of veal and three of very lean h:-.; ~^, "vith four carrots, two 
onions, one blade of mace, some white pepper-corns, two table- 
spoonfuls of salt and an ounce of butter, in four or five quarts of 
watei. Cut up the fowl and veal, and put them with the han/ ':^ 



346 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

simmer in a small quantity of water till the juices are extracted; 
then put in the full quantity of water, about three and one-half 
quarts, to the other ingredients. Let the liquid simmer from four 
to five hours; skim and strain till clear, when it is ready for the 
bechamel. Mix a tablespoonful of arrowroot with a pint of cream, 
and when well blended, let it simmer in a cai-ef ully cleaned pan for 
four or five minuses. Make one pint of the stock hot and pour it 
to the cream; simmer slowly for ten minutes, or until it thickens. 
If too thick, add a little stock. 

Anchovy Sauce. 
An easy way of making anchovy sauce is to stir two or three 
teaspoonfuls of prepared essence or paste of anchovy (which may 
be bought at your grocers) into a pint of melted butter; let the 
3auce boil a few minutes and flavor with lemon-juice. 

Bread Sauce. 

Take one pint of white stock; boil with an onion, a little mace, 
pepper-corns and salt; strain and pour it over six ounces of bread 
crumbs; boil for ten minutes and add three tablespoonfuls of 
cream. 

Brown Sauce. 

Melt two ounces of butter in a small saucepan and add one ounce 
of flour, stirring until it is of a brown color. Then add suflicient 
boiling stock to render it of a cream-like consistency, and season to 
taste with salt and pepper. 

Cucumber Sauce. 

Take three young cucumbers, slice them rather thickly, and fry 
them in a little butter till they ai-e lightly browned; dredge them 
with pepper, salt, and grated nutmeg, and simmer them till tender 
in as much good brown gravy as will cover them. White sauce or 
m.elted butter may be substituted for the gravy if these are more 
suitable to the dish with which the cucumber sauce is to be served. 
Time, about a quarter of an hour to simmer the cucumbers. 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 347 

Chili Sauce. 

Twelve ripe tomatoes, pared, two large peppers, chopped fine, 
one large onion, chopped fine, two cups of vinegar, one tablespoon, 
fill salt, one cup brown sugar, one teaspoonful each of allspice, 
nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Boil all together. 

Caper Sauce. 

Two tablespoonfuls of butter, one tablespoonful of flour; mix 
well; pour on boiling water until it thickens; add one hard-boiled 
egg, chopped fine, and two tablespoonfuls of capers. 

Celery Sauce. 

Put two ounces of butter into a saucepan, melt it, and add two 
heads of celery cut up into inch pieces; stir the celery in the pan 
till it is quite tender; add salt and pepper, with a little mace. Mix 
a tablespoonful of flour in a cup of stock and simmer half an hour. 
A cup of cream may be used instead of stock. 

Egg Sauce. 

Take yolks of two eggs, boiled hard; mash them with a table- 
spoonful of mustard, a little pepper and salt, three tablespoonfuls 
of vinegar, and three of salad oil. A tablespoonful of catsup 
improves this for some. This sauce is very nice for boiled fish. 

Fish Sauce. 
One-quarter of a pound of fresh butter, one tablespoonful of 
finely-chopped parsley, a little salt and pepper, and the juice of two 
lemons. Cream the butter; mix all well together. 

The Hollaxdaise Sauce. 
For one pint: one tablespoonful of salt, same of butter and flour; 
put them in a saucepan and put over the fire, and stir until the 
butter is melted. Add gradually one pint of hot water, about half 
a cup at a time, and stir each time for a minute while it is boiling; 
season with white pepper, nutmes^ and make sure it is cooked. 



348 SOUPS, SA.UCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

One great difficulty with sauces is they are raw. This makes the 
white sauce, which is the basis of many sauces. Add the yolks of 
two or three eggs, one tablespoonful of lemon-juice, or vinegar; 
three tablesj^oonfuls of salad oil. These may be added by putting 
them together in a separate dish and dipping a few spoonfuls of 
the white sauce upon them and stirring thoroughly, and then pour- 
ing back into the sauce. In this consistency the sauce makes a fine 
d/essing for lobster or chicken salad. This sauce is suitable for 
any kind of boiled fish. 

Hot Sauce for Meats. 

Four onions, two cups of sugar, thirty-two tomatoes, one quart 
of vinegar, four pejjpers, two tablespoonfuls of salt, two tablespoon- 
fuls of cinnamon, two tablespoonfuls of cloves, three tablespoonfuls 
of red pepper; cook, strain and bottle. 

Horse-Radish Sauce. 

Two teaspoonfuls of made mustard, two of white sugar, half a 
teaspoonful of salt and a gill of vinegar; mix and pour over 
grated horse-radish. Excellent with beef. 

Mushroom Sauce. 

To make a pint of mushroom sauce for the fillet of beef, use one 
tablespoonful of butter and one of flour; put over the fire and stir 
until brown. Then put in half a ]nnt of water or chicken broth 
and half a pint of essence of mushroom or the liquor found in a can 
of mushrooms; stir till the sauce is perfectly smooth, season with a 
saltspoonful of salt and quarter of a saltspoonful of pepper. Put 
in the mushrooms and boil two minutes; take off, put in "^ glass of 
sherry or Madeira wine, and pour around the fillet of beef. 

Mint Sauce. 

Ri?: oiie tablespoonful of white sugar to half a cup of good vin- 
egar; add the mint and let it infuse for half an hour before sending 
to the table. Serve with roast lamb or mutton. 



SOUPS. SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 34& 

Mustard Sauce. 
One cup of sugar, one cujd of vinegar, one tablespoonful of but- 
ter, four eggs and one tablespoonful of mustard; beat the egg^ 
well; mix all together; turn into a new tin pail or basin and boil in 
water same as custard, only to a cream, not thick. Strain through 
a thin cloth and it is done. 

Prepared Mustard. 

Two tablespoonfuls of mustard, one of flour; mix thoroughly 
while dry. Have a cup two-thirds full of strong vinegar ; fill with 
water, stir the flour and mustard into it and let it boil until as thick 
as custard; remove from the fire and add a tablespoonful of sugar. 

Made Mustard. 

Pour a very little boiling water over three tablespoonfuls of 
mustard; add one saltspoonful of salt, a tablespoonful of olive oil, 
stirred slowly in, and one tablespoonful of sugar; add the yolk of 
an egg; beat well together, and pour in vinegar to taste. It is best 
eaten next day. 

Mayonnaise Sauce. 

A mixture of egg yolks, oil, vinegar or lemon-juice. The prin- 
cipal point to be attended to in preparing this sauce is the mode of 
mixing, which demands time, patience and care. Break the yolk 
of a fresh egg into a bowl with a saltspoonful of pepper and 
salt mixed. Beat it till thick, then add from time to time 
during the mixing, two or three drops of the best olive oil until 
about four ounces have been used and the mixture is thick and 
yellow. When eight teaspoonfuls of oil have been used, stir in one 
teaspoonful of white wine vinegar, and continue adding oil and 
vinegar in these proportions until all the oil is used. The yolk of 
one egg would be sufficient for a pint of oil and vinegar in propor- 
tion. The addition of a few drops of lemon-juice makes mayon- 
naise look creamy. Mayonnaise will keep a long time if bottled 
closely and kept in a cool place. 



350 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

Maitre d'Hotel Butter. 

Knead together (on a plate with the j^oint of a knife) equal 

quantities of chopped parsley and fresh bixtter. Add pepper, salt 

And a little lemon-juice. Keep in a cool jDlace. When a dish is 

paid to be a la Maitre d'Hotel it is generally served with this butter. 

Maitre d'Hotel Sauce. 
Melt two ounces of fresh butter in a small enameled saucepan, 
ind stir to it, by degrees, two tablespoonf uls of flour; continue stir- 
t'\ng five or ten minutes, until the butter and flour are well blended, 
when add, also by degrees, a quarter of a pint of boiling cream and 
a quarter of a pint of good veal stock, also boiling; add a few 
sjjoonfuls of each at a time and stir well, allowing the sauce to 
simmer a minute or two between each addition. When perfectly 
smooth, put in the strained juice of a lemon, or, if preferred, a 
tablespoonful of Chili vinegar, a little pepper, a pinch of salt, and 
a tablesiDoonful of chopped parsley. The yolks of two eggs are a 
great improvement to this sauce, and are almost necessary when it 
is served with fish; but in that case only half the quantity of flour 
should be used, as the eggs help to thicken it. 

Oyster Sauce. 
Prepare some nice drawn butter; scald the oysters in a little 
jvater and mix them with the butter; mix well and let the sauce 
^me nearly to a boil, after which serve with oyster crackers. 

Old Currant Sauce for Venison. 
Boil an ounce of dried currants in half a pint of water, a few 
minutes; add a small cup of bread crumbs, six cloves, a glass of 
port wine and a bit of butter. Stir it till the whole is smooth. 

Piquant Sauce. 
Dissolve an ounce and a half of butter in a small saucepan over a 
moderate fire. Throw in a tablespoonful of chopped onions, and 
atir them about for two minutes, sprinkle a teaspoonful of flour over 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 35l 

them, and beat it with a wooden or iron spoon to prevent it from 
getting into hiraps. Add half a pint of stock or broth, a small 
bmicli of parsley, a sprig of thyme, a bay leaf, and a quarter of a 
teaspoonful of Cayenne. Simmer gently for twenty minutes, then 
lift out the herbs, pour in half a wineglassful of vinegar, and add a 
little pepper and salt if required; let all boil up together and serve. 

Tomato Sauce, 

Nine ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut small, red pepper chopped 
fine, one cup of vinegar, two tablespoonfuls brown sugar, one table- 
spoonful of salt, one teaspoonful ginger, one of cloves, one of all- 
spice; put vinegar in last; stew one hour. 

Almond Forcemeat. 
Beat up the yolks of three eggs with a quai'ter of a pint of good 
cream, and flavor with a little nutmeg. Blanch and pound in a 
mortar three ounces of sweet almonds, using white of egg to 
moisten. Add these with three-quarters of a pound of light bread 
crumbs, and three ounces of butter broken into small bits, to the 
egg mixtui'e. Stir in, lastly, the whites of the eggs whisked to a 
solid froth, and fill either capon or turkey. 

Forcemeat Balls. 
Chop a quarter of a pound of beef suet, a little lemon peel, and 
parsley. Mix with a basin of bread crumbs, and flavor with pep- 
per, salt, and nutmeg. Moisten with the yolks of two eggs, roll in 
flour, and make up into small balls. Bake in a hot oven, or fry till 
crisp. This recipe will do for fowls. The addition of a little ham, 
chopped or pounded, will be found a considerable improvement. 

Chestnut Forcemeat. 
Remove the outer skin from some chestnuts (they should be ript 
and sound). Boil them for two or three minutes to get off the 
inner skin. Peel them, and to preserve their color throw them into 
cold water; drain and weigh them. Stew six ounces of them 
gently for about twenty minutes in veal gravy. Let them get cold^ 



352 SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS. 

pound tliem till smooth with an equal quantity of butter, or half 
their weight in fat bacon, and add two ounces of bread cruinl)s, and 
a little salt, lemon rind, and nutmeg. Bind the mixture together 
with the unbeaten yolks of two egga. If this forcemeat is formed 
into cakes, these should be dipped into flour before being fried. 

Forcemeat for Fish, Soups and Stews. 

ir*ound the flesh of a medium-sized lobster, half an anchovy, a 
piece of boiled celery, the yolk of a hard-boiled egg, salt, pepper, 
and Cayenne to taste. Mix these with a tablespoonful of bread 
crumbs, two ounces of butter, and two of raw eggs. Make into 
small balls, and fry a pale brown in butter. Two or three oysters 
may be added. 

Forcemeat for Game. 

Take the livers of the game and pound them with half their 
weight of beef suet and good fat bacon, mixed together; season 
with salt, pepper, and ground cloves. Use a little of the meat of 
the game if enough of the livers cannot be obtained; moisten with 
cream, and bind with the yolks of two eggs. If the forcemeat be 
required stiff, stew over a gentle fire, keeping it constantly stirred 
antil the proper consistency is gained. 

Forcemeat for Turkeys. 
Take equal quantities of lean veal and pork, and mince them finely 
together; also cut into pieces a parboiled veal sweetbread, and mix 
with about three-quarters of a pound of each of the former meats. 
Add half a pound of bread, soaked, and the same amount of Avarm 
butter. Flavor with a little nutmeg, salt, pepper and half an ounce 
of grated lemon rind. Bind with three beaten eggs, and fill the 
turkey. 

Mushroom Forcemeat. 

Procure four ounces of young, fresh mushrooms. Peel them, cut 
off the stems. Dissolve two ounces of butter in a stewpan, and let 
them simmer very gently over a slow fire, with a slight flavoring of 
mace and Cayenne. Spread them over a dish placed in a slanting 



SOUPS, SAUCES, AND FORCEMEATS 353 

position to drain away the moisture. When cold mince them, and 
add four ounces of fine bread crumbs, a small seasoning of salt, 
Cayenne, mace, and nutmeg, a piece of butter, the yolks of two 
eggs. Put in as much of the mushroom gravy as will make the 
forcemeat of the propw consistency. Make into balls, poach and 
throw into soup; or fry, and serve round a dish of roast fowl or 
5?uinced veal. It is also a good stuffing for boiled fowls. 

Oyster Forcemeat. 
Get fresh oysters and cut them into quarters. Grate bread 
enough to fill half a pint, and one ounce and a half of finely shred 
suet or butter, which should be broken into bits. Mix all these 
ingredients together with a good flavoring of herbs, and a seasoning 
of salt, pepper, and grated nutmeg. Add two well-beaten eggs. 
This forcemeat is for boiled or roast turkey. It may be made iato 
balls and used as a garnish. Twenty oysters are sufficient fo»* "^ne 
turkey. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



FURNITURE. 

Furniture Covers. 
OTHING gives so dismal and unhospitable an appearance to a 
>^\ji room as to have the chairs and sofa or couch covered with 
^^ stiff unfriendly-looking linen; but pretty furniture that is 
used every day must be protected in some way, and there are many 
coverings which are really ornamental. For instance, a couch may 
be kept from fading by taking a piece of Turkish toweling the 
required length — that is, a little longer than the couch, so that it 
will fall over the ends, and not slide down and wrinkle; put scallops 
of flannel on the edgf , A border or centre-piece, or simply a vine 
workiid in some brignt color across the ends, make a pretty addi- 
tion to it. Tidies that are very serviceable may be made of brown 
linen with an applique stripe of cretonne flowers. The easiest and 
most satisfactory way to prepare cretonne for transferring is to first 
work the figure which is to be cut out with the button-hole stitch, 
and then cut around that. When it is placed upon broadcloth, or 
any material which will not require washing, sew it with long 
stitches on the wrong side; but when transferred to linen, sew it 
firmly, so that it will keep its place when washed. The tidies may 
be finished by putting fringe or yellow lace across the ends; turn 
down and hem on the sides, and feather-stitch with worsted or 
working cotton or silk. 

The Use of Varnish, 
No one knows until she has tried it how much she may change 
the aspect of things about the house by using a little varnish. On 

354 



FURNITURE. 355 

a sunshiny day take the old chairs and tables out on the porch, or 
by an open door, and after thoroughly dusting and wiping off with 
a damp cloth, apply a thin coat of varnish, and so cover up scratches 
and marred spots of all kinds. It will dry in a very short time, and 
you will be surprised to see how much good you have done. A 
flannel cloth wuh a very little linseed oil is good to rub furniture 
with, but the greatest care must be exercised to prevent any oil 
being left on the wood to attract dust. It must be rubbed until 
you would not know, except by the improved appearance, that any 
oil had been used. 

How TO Make an Ottoman. 

A neat and useful ottoman may be made by taking a box in which 
fine-cut tobacco is packed, and covering it with cretonne. The top 
may be taken off and put on without difficulty if, after covering, a 
narrow ruffle to fall over the edge is tacked on. An ottoman of 
this sort is convenient in the bedroom, where it may serve as a 
receptacle for stockings. If one does not care to buy cretonne, bits 
of carpet may be used for the covering. Burlap also makes a pretty 
cover, worked in some simple but showy pattern. 

To Render New Mahogany like Old. 
This is of service in the case of furniture repaired, or when 
lacquered handles have been changed for mahogany ones. Soap and 
water will darken to some extent; but if darker is required, use oil; 
or for very dark, use lime-water. 

To Clean Furniture. 
The cleaning of furniture should depend on the mode in which 
the f urnitui-e was originally polished. The method at present most 
generally adapted is French polishing and in such cases a little 
spirits of turpentine should be employed, which will clean off grease 
a " dirt without softening the varnish: it should, however, be 
rapidly done. If the furniture was originally polished with furni- 
ture paste (composed of bees'-wax dissolved in sinrits of turpentine 



556 FURNITURE. 

by means- of heat, and a little copal varnish, or finely-powdfiLil 
rosin, with a little Indian red added) it should be renovated by the 
same means. In the case of furniture polished with oil, renovating 
should be effected by means of linseed oil, slightly colored by a 
little alkanet root, which dissolves in oi., aided by slight heat. 

DiETT OE StAIJ^^ED FuEOTTUEE. 

If the furniture is in a bad state, but i>ot stained, it will be suffi- 
cient to clean it by washing it well with spirits of turpentine, and 
afterwards polishing with linseed oil colored with alkanet root. 
When, however, the furniture is stained or inky, it should be 
washed with sour beer or vinegar, warm; afterwards rubbing the 
stains with spirits of salts, rubbed on with a piece of rag, which 
will remove all the stains. The wood may then be polished, either 
with linseed oil colored with alkanet root, or with bees'-wax dis- 
solved in turpentine, with a little cold varnish or rosin added. 

To Clean Paint. 

Provide a plate with some of the best whiting to be had, and 
have ready some clean warm water and a j^iece of flannel, which 
dip into the water and squeeze nearly dry; then take as much 
whiting as will adhere to it, apply it to the ;jainted surface, when 
a little rubbing will instantly remove any dirt or grease. After 
which, wash the part well with clean water, rubbing it dry with a 
5oft chamois. Paint thus cleaned looks as well as when first laid 
i>n, without injury to the most delicate colors. It is far better than 
tfsing soap, and does not require more than half the time and labor. 

To Make Glue. 

The gloe, as bought, should be broken up small, first cuv- 
ered with cold water, and allowed to soak for a few hours. It 
should then be placed near the fire, and allowed to simmer. The 
addition of a few drops of linseed oil will improve it; and, when 
made, it should be kept in a dry place, as damp will destroy its 
tenacity and render it useless. 



FURNITURE. 557 

To Revive Gilt Frames. 
One ounce of soda beaten up with the whites of three ounces of 
eggs. Blow off the dust with a pair of bellows from the frames, 
then wasli them over with a brush dipped in this mixture, and this 
will render them fresh and bright. 

Magic Furniture Polish. 

Half pint alcohol, half ounce rosin, half ounce gum-shellac, a few 
drops aniline brown; let stand over night and add three-fourths 
pint of raw linseed oil and half a piu.t of spirits turpentine; shake 
well before using. Apply with co*'t?v flannel, and rub dry with 
another cloth. 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 



HOUSE PESTS. 




Camphor, a Remedy for Mice. 
Any one desirous of keeping seeds from the depredations of mice, 
can do so by mixing pieces of camphor gum in with the seeds. 

358 



HOUSE PESTS. 359 

Camphor placed in drawers or trunks will prevent mice from doing 
them injury. The little animal objects to the odor, and keeps a 
good distance from it. He will seek food elsewhere. 

Rats — To Drive away Alive. 

If you choose to drive them away alive, take potash, pulverized, 
and put quite plenty of it into all their holes about the house. If 
the potash is pulverized and left in the air, it becomes pasty; then 
it can be daubed on the boards or planks, where they come through 
into rooms. 

How TO Deal with Rats. 

A writer in the Scientific American says : " We clean our prem- 
ises of these detestable vermin by making whitewash yellow with 
copperas and covering the stones and rafters in the cellars with it. 
In every crevice in which a rat may go we put the crystals of the 
copperas and scatter in the corners of the floor. The result Avas a 
perfect stampede of rats and mice. Since that time not a footfall 
of either rats or mice has been around the house. Every sjjring a 
coat of the yellow wash is given the cellar, as a purifier, and a rat 
exterminator, and no typhoid, dysentery or fevers attacks the 
family. Many persons deliberately attract all the rats in the 
neighborhood by leaving fruits and vegetables uncovered in the 
cellar, and sometimes even the soap is left open for their regale- 
ment. Cover up everything eatable in the cellar and pantry, and 
you will soon starve them out. These precautions, joined to the 
service of a good cat, will prove as good a rat exterminator as the 
ehemist can provide. We never allow rats to be poisoned in our 
dwelling, they are so apt to die between the walls and produce 
much annoyance." 

To Destroy Bed Bugs, Moths, and Other Vermin. 

Dissolve alum in hot water, making a very strong solution ; apply 

to furniture or crevices in the walls with a paint brush. This is sure 

destruction to those noxious vermin, and invaluable because easily 

obtained, is perfectly safe to use, and leaves no unpleasant traces 



360 HOUSE PESTS. 

behind. When you suspect moths have lodged in the borders of 
carpets, wet the edges of the carpets with a strong solution; wheu 
ever it reaches them, it is certain death. 

Hellebore, rubbed over with molasses, and put round the plac«* 
that cockroaches frequent, is a very effectual poison for them. 

Arsenic, spread on bread and butter, and placed round rat or 
mouse holes, will soon put a stop to their ravages. 

Quicksilver and the white of an egg, beat together, and laid with 
a feather round the crevices of the bedsteads and the sacking, ia 
very effectual in destroying bugs in them. 

To kill flies, when so numerous as to be troublesome, keep cobalt, 
wet with spirit, in a large shallow plate. The spirit will attract 
the flies, and the cobalt will kill them very soon. Black pepper is 
said to be good to destroy them; it should be mixed, so as to be 
very strong, with a little crccim and sugar. 

Great care is necessary in using the above poisons, where there 
are any children, as they are so apt to eat anything that comes in 
their way, and these poisons will prove as fatal to them as to ver- 
min (excepting the pepper). 

The flour of sulphur is said to be good to drive ants away, if 
sprinkled round the places that they frequent. Sage is also good. 

Weak brine will kill worms in gravel walks, if kept moist with it 
a week in the spring, and three or four days in the fall. 

Cedar chests are best to keep flannels, for cloth moths are never 
found in them. Red cedar chips are good to keep in drawers, 
wardrobes, closets, trunks, etc., to keep out moths. 

To Prevent Red Ants. 
Put one pint of tar in an earthen vessel, pour on it two quarts of 
boiling hot water, and place it in your closet. 

How TO Get Rid of Flies. 
A clergyman, writing from Ireland, says: "For three years I 
have lived in town, and during that time my sitting room has been 
free from flies, three or four only walking about my breakfast table. 



HC DSE PESTS. 361 

while all ray neighbors' rooms were crowded. I often congratu- 
lated myself on my escape, but never knew the reason of it until 
two days ago. I then had occasion to remove my goods to another 
house, while I remained on for two days longer. Among other 
things moved were two boxes of geraniums and calceolarias, which 
stood in my window, the latter always being open to its full extent 
top and bottom. The boxes were not gone half an hour before my 
room was as full of flies as those around me. This, to me, is a new 
discovery, and perhaps it may serve to encourage others in that 
which is always a source of pleasure, and which now proves also to 
be a source of comfort, viz., window gardening." 

Mosquitoes. 

Mr. I vers "VV. Adams writes from Bathurst, N. B., to Forest and 
Stream, that he tried a dozen prescriptions for repelling mosquitoes, 
flies, and similar pests, and found none of them effective until he 
came across the following, which are dead sure every time: 

"Three ounces sweet oil, one ounce carbolic acid. Let it be 
thoroughly applied upon hands, face, and all exposed parts (care- 
fully avoiding the eyes) once every half hour, when flies are 
troublesome, or for the first two or three days, until the skin is 
filled with it, and after this its application will be necessary only 
occasionally. Another receipt, equally eflicacious, is: Six parts 
sweet oil, one part creosote, one part pennyroyal. Either of these is 
agreeable to use, and in no way injurious to the skin. We have 
both of these in our camp with us, and all flies keep a safe distance." 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

TOILET. 

Cleaning Gloves. 
,!N excellent preparation for cleaning gloves can be bought for a 
small sum at any drug store: Get one quart of deodorized 
benzine, one drachm of sulphuric ether, one drachm chloro- 
form, and two drachms alcohol. Cologne water can be added if 
desired. Pour a little of this into a clean bowl, and wash the gloves 
in it as you would wash anything. After the dirt is nearly out, 
rinse in more of the clean fluid. Usually one rinsing is enough, but 
if the gloves are very much soiled, rinse the second time. If the 
gloves are of cheap kid it is best to dry them on the hands, but a 
nice glove, after having been rubbed with a soft cloth to smooth out 
the wrinkles, may be hung on a line to dry. This preparation is ar 
excellent thing to keep in the house, not only for cleaning gloves, 
but for taking out grease spots from carpets and clothing, and for 
sponging coat collars and felt hats. 

Haie Receivers. 
The little Japanese jDarasols, which oan be bought for four or five 
cents, make very pretty hair receivers. Open them about half their 
extent; if necessary to make them stay half open, catch them with 
a few stitches. Put a loop of ribbon around the handle and hang 
them up. 

Toilet Cushions. 
Pretty covers for toilet cushions can be made of bits of muslin 
and lace that are not large enough to do anything else with. First 
make the cushion; fill it with sawdust which has been heated until 

362 



TOILET. 363 

it IS perfectly dry, otherwise the sawdust will shrink and the 
cushion be spoiled. Sawdust is preferable to bran, for there is 
danger of mice destroying the cushion if it is filled with bran. 
Cover the cushion with silk, or even pretty cambric or cashmeri*i 
will do. Then make a square of the little pieces of lace and muslin 
and put over. Finish the cushion with a muslin ruffle edged wit!^ 
narrow Italian lace, which costs a few cents a yard. 

Shaving Cases. 

The prettiest shaving cases I have ever seen are made by using 
for a foundation little Japanese paper fans. Cover the fan with 
silk or silesia, or combine; cut a piece of pasteboard the size of the 
fan, and, as this is to be the outside of the case, cover it with silk 
or satin, trim the edge with narrow lace or with plaited ribbon, 
ornament it with a bow, or paint a spray of flowers on it, or put on 
neatly a pretty transfer picture, or an initial, according to the 
means and taste of the maker. Fasten the paper leaves which may 
be pinked to the fan part, and then put on the cover, catching it 
with silk to the upper part of the fan near the handle. Put a loop 
of ribbon or chenille at the end of the handle to hang it up by. 
This is an acceptable gift for a gentleman. 

To C leax Haie-Beushes and Combs. 

Dissolve potash in boiling water, and rub the brush with soap: 
dip the brush into the solution, and draw it through the comb 
frequently, taking care to keep the wood dry. Lastly, rinse the 
hair in cold water, and dry; or, use spirits of ammonia and hot 
water; Avash them well and shake the water out, drying on a coarse 
towel; they will look white and clean as new. Little or no soap is 
needed. 

To Clean Jeweley. 

Wash in soap suds; rinse in diluted alcohol, and lay in a box of 
dry sawdust to dry. As simple as this seems, it is the very ni(!est 
way possible to clean gold chains or ornaments of any kind. 



364 TOILET. 

Cologne Water. 

One drachm oil lavender, one drachm oil bergamot, two drachms 
oil lemon, two drachms oil rosemary, fifty drops tincture of musk, 
eight drops oil of cinnamon, eight drops oil of cloves, one pint of 
alcohol. 

Cologne Water, No 2. 

Take of essence of bergamot and of citron each five drachms, 
essence of lemon four drachms, essence of rosemary two and one- 
half drachms, essence of orange flower three drops, alcohol one 
quart; mix together. Those who prefer a fuller perfume may add 
five drachms of lavender. 

Cold Cream. 
Take of the oil of almonds two ounces, of spermaceti half an 
ounce, and white wax half an ounce. Put them in a close vessel, 
and set the vessel in a skillet of boiling water. When melted, beat 
the ingredients with rosewater until cold. Keep it in a tight box, 
or wide-mouthed bottle, corked up close, 

' Lip Salve. 

Dissolve a small lump of white sugar in a tablespoonful of rose- 
water (common water will do, but is not so good). Mix it with a 
couple of large spoonfuls of sweet oil, a piece of spermaceti, of the 
size of half a butternut. Simmer the whole well together eight or 
ten minutes, then turn it into a small box. 

Lavender Water, 
Take one pint of spirits of wine, one-half ounce of lavender oil, 
one-half ounce of bergamot, one shilling's worth of musk; mix all 
together in a bottle, and shake it occasionally. The longer it is 
kept the better it becomes. 

To Cleait Gold Chains. 
Let the article required to be cleaned, stand for some time in a 
■solution of caustic potash, until all the adhering dirt is removed. 



TOILET. 365 

It should then be taken out of the water with a piece of stick, and 
rinsed in a large quantity of cold water, and placed on a soft clean 
cloth to dry. This method must not be used for rings or other 
articles that contain jewels, either gems or paste, or the silica, 
which is the principal ingredient in their composition, would be 
corroded by the potash. 

To Clean Gilt Jewelry. 

Wash the brooch, eari-ings, etc., with soap and water; rinse, and 
with a small, soft brush wash the article with spirits of hartshorn. 

To Remove a Tight Ring. 

If the finger on which the ring has been placed has swollen, and 
there seems a difficulty of removing the ring, pass a needle and 
cotton under it, pull the cotton up towards the hand and 
twist the remaining cotton round the finger several times until 
it reaches the nail. By taking hold of the end nearest the hand it 
is generally an easy matter to slide the ring off the finger, however 
much difficulty there may have appeared in doing so before the 
experiment was tried. 

Grease Eraser. 

Benzine, alcohol, ether, equal parts; mix; apply with sponge 
(patting the spot) ; put a piece of blotting paper on each side and 
iron with a hot flat iron. 

Cure for Chapped Hands. 

Glycerine applied over the hands at night is an excellent remedy. 
This remedy is very much employed in Russia during the preva- 
lence of severe frosts, to protect the skin of the face when exposed 
to the weather. 

Care of the Teeth. 

The teeth require to be kept particularly clean, rather than the 
api^lication of mouth washes and elaborate dentifrices. The more 
simple the ingredients used, the better. Unless recommended by a 



366 TOILET. 

good dentist, all tooth powders reputed to have beautifying effects 
should be used with caution. Washing the teeth night and morn- 
ing is the best preservative of their beauty and soundness. 

Offensive Feet. 
Take one part of muriatic acid to ten parts of water. Rub the 
feet every night with this mixture before retiring to bed. 

For Freckles. 
One quart i*ain water, one ounce benzoin, one ounce aqua ammo- 
nia, one ounce rosewater, two ounces glycerine; mix well; shake 
before using. 

Care of the Nails. 
The finger-nails should be trimmed to the shape of the fingers'- 
ends, leaving them moderately long, but not projecting beyond the 
tips of the fingers. Nails should not be cleaned with sharp-pointed 
scissors and pins — a soft nail brush is the right means. If the 
hands and nails have become unusually soiled, they should be 
rubbed with a little sweet oil or pomatum before washing with 
soap, and afterwards cleaned in tepid water. In wiping the hands 
the " crescent " of the nails should be preserved by gently pushing 
it back with the towel. 



CHAPTER XXX' 



KITCHEN. 

Care of Silver. 
''HEN putting away the silver tea or coffee pot, which is not 
^^ used every day, lay a little stick across the top under the 
cover; this will allow fresh air to get in and will prevent 
mustiness. It will then be ready for use at any time, after having 
first been thoroughly rinsed with boiling water. 

Nothing is better to clean silver with than alcohol and ammonia. 
After rubbing with this, take a little whiting on a soft cloth and 
polish. Even frosted silver, which is so difficult to clean, may be 
easily made clear and bright. 

New Kettles. 
The best way to prepare a new iron kettle for use is to fill it with 
clean potato peelings, boil them for an hour or more, then wash the 
kettle with hot water, wipe it dry and rub it with a little lard; 
repeat the rubbing for half an dozen times after using. In thia 
way you will prevent rust, and all the annoyances liable to occur ip 
the use of a new kettle. 

To Purify "Water. 
A large spoonful of pulverized alum sprinkled into a hogshead of 
water (the water stirred round at the time), will, after the lapse of 
a few hours, so purify it that it will be found to possess nearly the 
freshness and clearness of finest spring water. A pailful containing 
fonr gallons may be purified by a single spoonful; or a mixture of 
one part chalk and two of alum will be still better, 

367 



368 KITCHEN. 

Washing Dishes. 
Dishes should always be rinsed in clear, hot water after Having 
been washed in soap suds. Nothing is more unpleasant at the table 
than to notice a certain stickiness that the soap is likely to leave. 
It is necessary also from a sanitary point of view; the caustic alkali 
is corrosive and unwholesome, and the grease is often impure. 

Cleaning Tinware. 
Do not set apart one day on which to clean your silver or scou: 
your tinware; there is danger of its not being done at all. Have 
your cleaning material ready, and when you are " doing up " the 
dishes after each meal, clean and polish the silver or tin you have 
l)een using. This is a pood habit to cultivate. 

To Make Hard Water Soft. 
Fill the wash-boiler or tank with hard water; then put half a cup 
of wood ashes into a woollen bag; cover this with cotton cloth to 
prevent ashes sifting out; let this lie in the water until that is 
warm enough to use. 

The Griddle. 

Rub your griddle with fine salt before you grease it, and your 
cake will not stick. 

When walnuts have been kept until the meat is too much dried 
to be good, let them stand in milk and water eight hours, dry 
them, and they will be as fresh as when new. 

Coal Ashes Good to Scour With. 
The fine, soft coal ashes which are found in the pipe in the 
spring, and which sift under the pan, will clean and brighten tin- 
ware. Take a piece of old flannel, dip lightly into soft soap, and 
rub, afterwards using a clean piece of flannel to polish with. 

How TO Triumph over Absent-Mindedness. 
Many of the difiiculties arising from absent-mindedness in hired 
help may be removed if the mistress of the house has a habit af 



KITCHEN. 369 

making a regular programme for the day's work. A bit of personal 
experience may not be amiss. I had a girl who was one of the 
most obliging persons I ever saw, but she could not remember the 
common and usual order of the morning's work. Thino-s were 
always going wrong, unless at just such an hour I appeared in the 
kitchen and directed that the vegetables be prepared for dinner 
etc. At last we hit upon the plan of hanging a written j^rogramme 
of the work to be done, and the order in which it ought to be done 
over the sink. This worked so well that when without help I keep 
up the jDractice, for I confess to the fact that when I am out of the 
kitchen ray mind is out of it too, and I have wasted some valuable 
time standing around in corners of the pantry and kitchen tryin^^ 
to reproduce the conditions which gave rise to thoughts of work 
that ought to be done; but with the help of the programme made 
out the night before, and changed as circumstances seem to require 
next morning, have been able to do many things which otherwise 
would have been forgotten, or remembered when it was too late or 
very inconvenient to do them. 

An Economical Crumb-Cloth. 

A red table-cloth that is too much faded to be used on the table 
makes a good crumb cloth. Starch it as stiff as you can easily, 
iron perfectly smooth, taking care to pull the edges straight and 
even, pin it to the carpet instead of tacking it, as then it will not 
be so much trouble to take it up, and you will wash it just as soon 
as it needs it. It will keep clean a long time, and, even if you can 
afford a handsome cloth, it is convenient to use this when the other 
is up to be cleaned. 

Scraping Kettles. 

A clam shell is more convenient for scraping kettles and frying 
pans than a knife. It does the work in less time. 

How TO KEEP Lamp Chimneys Clean. 
After the lamps are filled and the chimneys cleaned and put ou 
the shelf, take pieces of newspaper and roll in the form of a chim- 



370 KITCHEN. 

ney and slij) over chimney and lam]). It will protect from dust and 
flies, and when the lamps are lighted one will be rewarded by find- 
ing them as clean and bright as when first put in order. 

How^ TO Start a Fire. 
Keep the kerosene can in the wood-house. If you have no kind- 
ling, and feel that oil must be used to start the fire, try this method: 
Take a small paper bag, pour a little oil into it, and run with it to 
the stove; in this way you can start a fire quickly without dropping 
oil on the floor, or endangering your life. It would be better not 
to use oil at all for this purpose. 

To Make Fire Kindlers. 
Take a quart of tar and three pounds of resin; melt them, bring 
to a cooling temperature, mix with as much coarse saw^dust, with a 
little charcoal added, as can be worked in; spread out while hot 
upon a board. When cold, break up into lumps of the size of a 
hickory-nut, and you have, at a small expense, kindling material 
enough for a household for a year. 

How TO Polish a Stove Easily. 
If a little vinegar or some cider is mixed with stove polish it will 
not take much rubbing to make the stove bright, and the blacking 
is not likely to fly off in fine dust. 

How TO Use the Oil Stove. 
A few suggestions in regard to the use of the oil stove may be of 
value to some one who does not succeed well in using it. Com- 
plaints are frequently made that a meal can not be put hot upon 
the table if cooked on the single oil stove. My plan is this: If 1 
am to get breakfast by it, the first thing is to boil the water for 
coffee, have the coffee in the pot, with some soft paper stuffed in 
the nose. When the water boils, pour a little on the coffee, cover 
closely, and set it one side. Then warm the potatoes; when thor- 
oughly cooked, cover them and set one side. If beefsteak is pre- 
ferred to cold meat, cook that; the stove being very hot, it will 



KITCHEN. 371 

cook quickly. Then as you take the steak off with one hand, 
with the other set the potatoes back on the stove. While you are 
preparing the steak for the table, the potatoes will be getting hot; 
while taking them off, set the coffee-pot back on the stove. Of 
course, one must be very quick in her movements. Dinner may in 
the same way be put smoking on the table, and the housewife, cool 
and fresh, will enjoy the meal as well as any member of the family. 
Any one who keeps plants in a room where there is no fire at night, 
or in a bay window, may prevent their freezing by lighting the oil 
stove and placing it near them. Canned fruit and vegetables may, 
also, in this way be kept from freezing. One who has never tried 
it will be surprised to nqtice how much heat is given out. 

Blacking Stoves. 
Every woman owes it to her family as well as to herself to 
simplify her Avork as much as possible, and not to do things that 
are unnecessary; for instance, it is a waste of time and strength 
and blacking to black and polish the top of the kitchen stove after 
each meal is prepared; and yet there are women who will bo 
shocked to read this assertion. Other parts of the stove can be 
kept nice with very little trouble; and, if the top is kept clean till 
her fire is out for the day, that ought to satisfy the most pains' 
taking woman. A convenient arrangement for washing the top of 
a hot stove is to have a smooth, round stick, with a soft cloth tied 
securely to it. A cloth is better than a brush for cleaning corners. 

How TO Clean Mica. 
Every woman who has been obliged to spend half a day several 
times during the winter cleaning the mica in her coal stove, usually 
by taking them out and washing them in soap-suds, will rejoice to 
know there is a much easier way to clean them, and that there is no 
need to take them out or let the fire burn very low in order to do it 
successfully. Take a little vinegar and water and wash the mica 
carefully with a soft cloth; the acid removes all stains, and if a 
little pains is taken in cleaning the corners and in wiping them dry 



372 KITCHEN. 

the mica will look as good as new. It is a great care to see tliat 
etoves are kept in pr.p r order, and not many servants can be 
trusted to do it as it shoi.xtl bo done. The task might be made 
somewhat easier by choosin™ stoves which are not too highly orna- 
mented. Unless the trimmings are ke^.t absolutely spotless and 
bright, which is a very difficult thing to accomplish, they cannot 
lay the least claim to being ornamental; indeed, a stove which, by 
reason of its excessive decoration, is rendered the most prominent 
feature of the room, demanding attention the moment one enters, is 
certainly in bad taste, A clean, well-polished stove, with graceful 
shape, which fulfills the end of its being by heating the house, is all 
that a stove should be. The fire may be, as it has been called, the 
soul of the room, but it ought not to ask too much attention to its 
body. 

To Clean Knives. 
Scrape at one end of the knife-board a little heap of Bath brick* 
rub on a piece of red flannel some yellow soap; lay the knife flat 
on the board; dip the soaped flannel in the brick-dust, and rub it on 
the knife. When clean, wash the knives in warm water, but be 
careful not to let it touch the handle. This method saves the 
knives as well as the labor of cleaning in the usual way. 

To Keep a Kitchen Table Clean. 
A cook should always keep a piece of oil cloth ready, to put her 
saucepans and stewpans on when necessary; the oil cloth can be so 
much more easily cleaned than the table. A few common straw 
mats are also very handy in a kitchen, to save the table fi*om being 
soiled. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 



THE LAUNDRY. 

To Clean Colored Fabrics. 
[EARLY all colored fabrics stain the suds used to clean them, 

and that without losing their own brightness in any way. 

No article of a different color must be plunged into a rinse or 
wash so stained, but must have fresh ones; and no colored article 
must be rinsed in blued suds. Scarlet is particularly pi-one to color 
a wash. 

Different colors are improved by different substances being used 
in the wash or rinse; sugar of lead has the credit of fixing all colors 
-when first cleaned, and may be used to those likely to run. To 
l)righten colors, mix some ox-gall ; but, of course, the quantity must 
be regulated by the quantity of suds in the Avasli and rinse. For 
"buff and cream-colored alpaca or cashmere, mix in the wash and 
rinse some friar's balsam. For black materials, some ammonia. 
For violet, ammonia or a small quantity of soda in the rinsing 
water. There are some violets and raauves that fade in soda. For 
green, vinegar in the rinse, in the proportion to two tablespoonfuls 
to a quai-t of rinse. For blue, to one dress, a good handful of 
common salt in the rinse. For brown and grey, ox-gall. Fot 
white, blue the wash with laundry blue. 

Dresses, mantles, shawls, opera cloaks, underskirts, articles 
■embroidered with silk, self-colored or chintz-colored damask cur- 
tains, moreen and other woollen curtaining, may all be cleaned as 
specified so far. Blankets should be cleaned in the same way. 
Pull them out well, whilst wet, at both sides and both ends, between 

373 



374 THE LAUNDRIJ. 

two personSo When half dry, it is a good plan to take them off 
the line, and pull them again; when quite dry just give them a 
little more pulling out. This keeps them open and soft. Blankets 
are not blued so much as flannels, presently described. Never use 
soda to them, and never rinse them in plain water, or rub on soap. 
The dyers and cleaners have a mode of pressing articles which 
gives to many of them, such as damask and moreen curtaining and 
paisley shawls, a superior appearance to anything that can be 
achieved at home; but some of them will press articles at a ^xed 
price for persons cleaning them at home. 

Muslin Dresses, 

Even of the most delicate colors, can be cleaned in ten minutes 
or a quarter of an hour, without losing their color. Melt half a 
pound of soap in a gallon of water, empty it in a washing tub; 
place near two large tubs of clean water, and stir into one a quart 
of bran. Put the muslin in the soap, turn it over and knead it for 
a few minutes; squeeze it out well, but do not wring it, lest it get 
torn; rinse it about quickly in the bran for a couple of minutes. 
Rinse again well for a couple of minutes in clean water. Squeeze 
out dry and hang it between two lines. A clear, diy day should be 
chosen to wash muslin dresses; half a dozen may be done this way 
in half an hour. The last rinse may be prepared the same way as 
the rinses for woollen fabrics. A colored pattern on a white ground 
must not be blued. The bran may here be dispensed with. 

When the dress is dry, make the starch; for a colored muslin 
white starch, and unboiled, but made with boiling water, is best. 
Stir the starch with the end of a wax candle. Dip the dress. Hang 
it again to dry. When dry, rinse it quickly and thoroughly in 
clear water. Hang it to dry again. Sprinkle and roll it up; after- 
wards iron it with a very hot iron. Hot irons keep the starch stiff. 
This rinsing after starching is called clear-starching; none of the 
stiffness, but much of the unsightliness of the starch is removed in 
this way. 



THE LAUNDRY. 375 

All kinds of white muslins, lace cui-tains, cravats, etc., may be 
washed in a thick ley of soap as described, well rinsed, blued, and 
starched, like the muslin dresses above named. Use blue starch to 
white. Book muslin should be very slightly blued as blue-looking 
muslin is very unbecoming to the complexion; a slight creamy tinge 
is pi-eferablo. 

Morning cambric dresses may be washed the same way as musli^ 
dresses; but they do not generally clean so readily, and, perhaps, 
may nee^ rubbing a little in places that are soiled. 

The advantage of thus cleaning dresses instead of washing them 
is, first, if colored, the process is so rapid that there is not time for 
the colors to run. Secondly, the fabric is not rubbed, and there- 
fore not strained and worn out. Thirdly, the process saves nearly 
all labor, and is so quickly done, that any lady may manage it for 
herself in the absence of a laundry-maid. 

Many ladies make a strong solution of sugar of lead; stir it well 
when dissolved, and let the dress, muslin or cotton, soak a couple 
of hours to set the colors before washing it the first time. It does 
not need to be repeated. Those using sugar of lead should be care- 
ful not to do so if they have any scratches, abrasions, or wounds 
about their hands. 

Chintz may be cleaned the same way as muslin and print dresses. 

Laces. 

Laces of all kinds can, with a little care, be rendered equal to 
new. Make a strong solution of soap, as described for woollen 
materials. The laces may all be put in at once. Squeeze them in 
and out. They generally, become free from dirt by once passing 
through. They may then be thoroughly rinsed, blued, and starched; 
but if at all discolored and bad looking, must first be boiled. Soap 
each article thoroughly all over; fill a basin or jar with water 
as blue as possible, and lumps of soda and soap; put the lace in 
the basin; put the basin in a saucepan of water just large enough 
to hold above by the rim (like a glue-pot), and put the saucepan 
lid on the basin. Boil two or three hours, taking care the water 



876 THE LAUNDRY. 

doP3 not boil out of the saucepan and let it burn; if need be, 
ieplenish it; turn out the lace in the basin; rinse it well; blue it 
with the finest blue that can be procured, but not much; get a 
bottle of the best drawing gum in solution from an artists' 
colorman (common liquid gum will not do); put a teaspoonful 
of this to a pint of water; stir it well; stiffen the laces in it; 
squeeze them dry; lay them on a clean dry towel; fold them up 
till most of the moisture is absorbed. While still dry, pin out each 
piece of lace by each point, stretching it equal to new, but not 
straining any part, on a cushion which has first been covered with a 
clean cloth. The right side of the lace should be up. Leave it till 
quite dry, which will probably not be till the next day. If it is 
Cluny lace with raised spots, take a pin and raise all the spots as it 
lies on the cushion. Remove all the pins, and pick out every part 
and corner of the lace with the fingers. If raised, raise it by draw- 
ing it over the thumb-nail. Brussels lace and Honiton lace look 
better ironed whilst a little damp, instead of being pinned out in 
this way. Arrange these, also, with the finger, both before and 
after ironing. Crochet may be pinned out, or left to dry, pulled 
out with the fingers only, or pulled out whilst still damp and 
ironed. It is, also, a matter of fancy whether it is starched or not. 

To Bleach Lace, Etc. 
After washing and boiling let it lie all day in excessively strong 
blue-water; lay it out all night on the grass to dry. Boil again 
with soap, without soda or blueing; rinse well. It must not, how- 
ever, be forgotten that too much soda turns linen, etc., yellow. 

To Stttfex Li:n'en-, 
Such as cuffs that require to be very firm, boil the starch after 
mixing it cold. Into a pint of starch drop a bit of white wax half 
the size of a small hazle-nut and a teaspoonful of brandy. The 
spirit is to retain the stiffness and increase it, the wax to save the 
starch from sticking to the iron. AVhen an iron sticks to starch, 
soap the bottom of the iron. 



THE LAUNDRY. 377 

To Clean Cloth. 
A contemporary recommends the following plan: Moisten a 
sponge with pure water, press it in a clean towel till it becomes 
neany dry; then sponge, one place after the other, the cloth; all the 
dust will enter the sponge; wash the sponge afterwards with water. 
This method of cleaning wears cloth out less than brushing. Many 
spots also disappear with pure water. 

To Clean Black Silk. 
Take entirely to pieces the dress, jacket, etc., and well shake each 
piece; then spread over a table and over it spread a newspaper, or 
sheet of clean paper, and on it lay a breadth of the silk. Brush it 
well both sides with a fine soft brush — a hat-brush would very well 
answer the purpose. Shake it again; fold together in half, and 
place it on one side of the table. In the same manner shake, brush, 
and shake again, each piece of silk. Remove the paper, and place 
on the table a clean sheet. On the paper again place a breadth of 
the silk, and into a clean quart basin pour a half pint of cold water 
adding a half pint of good sweetened gin, which is better for the 
purpose than unsweetened, as the sugar stiffens the silk. These 
are the proportions for any quantity required. Have ready a piece 
of black crape, or black merino, about a half yard square; dip it 
well into the liquid, and thoroughly wash over the best side of the 
silk. Be careful that it be well cleaned, and, if possible, wash it 
from edge to edge, and wet it well all over. Then fold over the 
silk in half; then again, till the folds are the width of those of new 
silk. Place it in a clean towel, and clean each piece of the silk in 
the same manner, laying one piece On the other; and remembering 
by a mark which is the last piece done, as that must be the last 
ironed. Let the silk be folded in the towel till a large iron is well 
heated; but be careful that it is not too hot; try it first on paper, 
or a piece of old dampened silk. Use two irons. Open the towel 
when the iron is ready, and place the piece of silk that was first 
cleaned on an old table-cloth or sheet folded thick; iron the wrong 



378 ■ THE LAUNDRY. 

side quickly, from edge to edge, until dry. Fold the silk over 
lightly to the width of new silk, and place it on one end of the table 
till all are done. This simple process stiffens, cleans, and makes 
the silk look new. . 

To Clean Black Merino, or any Woollen Stuff. 
Purchase at a drug store two cents worth of carbonate of 
ammonia. Place it in a clean quart basin, and pour upon it a pint 
of boiling water; cover it over with a clean plate, and let it stand 
till cold. Then proceed the same as directed for cleaning black 
silks. Gentlemen's clothes can thus be cleaned without taking to 
pieces, or ironing, unless quite convenient. Vests and coat collars 
are thus easily renovated, the color is revived, grease spots and 
white seams removed. 

To Renovate Crape. 
Brush the crape well with a soft brush, and hold tightly over a 
wide-mouthed jug of boiling water, gradually stretching it over the 
jug. If a strip of crape, it is very easily held tightly over the 
water, letting the portion done fall over the jug until all is com- 
pleted. The crape will become firm and fit for use, every mark 
and fold being removed. White or colored crape may be washed 
and pinned over a newspaper, or towel, on the outside of a bed, 
until dry. Crape that has been exposed to rain or damp — veils 
especially — may be saved from spoiling by being stretched tightly 
on the outside of the bed with pins, until dry; and no crajDC should 
be left to dry without having been pulled into proper shape. If 
black crape, lace, or net, is faded or turned brown, it may be dipped 
into water, colored with the blue-bag, adding a lump of loaf sugar 
to stiffen, and pinned to a newspaper on a bed. 

Washing Clothes. 
If pipe clay is dissolved in the water, the linen is thoroughly 
cleaned with half the labor and a saving of one-fourth of soap; and 
the clothes will be improved in color equally as if bleached. The 
pipe clay softens the hardest water. 



THE LAUNDRY. 379 

Washing Chintzes. 
These should always be washed in dry weather, but if it is very 
cold, it is better to diy them by the fire than risk spoilinjy the 
colors from freezing in the open aii*. It is better, if possible, lo 
defer their washing till the weather is suitable. 

To Remove Spots of Wax. 
Place a piece of soft soap on each spot and warm it slightly 
before the fire, or in the sun (if hot). Wash the spot afterward 
with. soft water, and it will disappear. 

Another Recipe. 
Cover the spot with spirits of wine or turpentine, and rub the 
place gently with a soft rag. Continue the same process until the 
spot disappears. 

To Clean Carpets. 

When the carpet is well beaten and free from dust, lay it tightly 
down, and scrub it with soap, dissolved in soft water mixed with 
bullock's gall — about four gallons of water to a pint of gall. This 
will restore the colors of the carpet to their original brightness, and 
make it look almost like new. The brush employed should be of 
soft character, with long bristles. 

For Bleaching Cotton Cloth. 
One pound chloride of lime, dissolved and strained; put in two 
or three pails of water; thoroughly wet the cloth and leave it over 
night; then rinse well in two waters. This will also take out mil- 
dew, and is equally good for brown cotton or white that has become 
yellow from any cause, and will not injure the fabric. 

To Clean Light Kid Gloves. 
Magnesia, moist bread, and India rubber, are all of them good t(? 
clean light kid gloves. They should be rubbed on the gloves thor- 
oughly. If so much soiled that they cannot be cleaned, sew up the 
tops of the gloves, and rub them over with a sponge dipped in i 



380 THE LAUNDRY. 

decoction of saffron and water. The gloves will be yellow or 
brown, according to the strength of the decoction. 

To Clean White Silk Lace. 

The lace is stretched over small clean slips of wood to keep it 
evenly spread out, laid over night in warm milk, to which a little 
soap has been added, rinsed in fresh water, laid for the same length 
of time in warm soap-lye, and finally rinsed without any friction. 
Linen lace is best cleaned by covering the outside of a large glass 
bottle smoothly with stout linen or white flannel, upon which the 
lace is sewn in a number of coils, and over the whole some coarse 
open tissue is secured. The bottle thus dressed is allowed to soak 
for a time in lukewarm soft water, and the outside wrapping is then 
rubbed with soap and a piece of flannel. After this the bottle is 
laid to steep for some hours in clean soft water. It is then rolled 
between dry towels, dipped in rice water, and rolled again. Finally 
the damp lace is unfastened from the bottle and ironed between 
linen cloths. 

Stakch Polish. 

White wax, one ounce; spermaceti, two ounces; melt them 
together with a gentle heat. When you have prepai'ed a suflicient 
amount of starch, in the usual way, for a dozen pieces — put into it 
a piece of the polish the size of a large pea; more or less, according 
to large or small washings. Or, thick gum solution (made by 
pouring boiling water upon gum arable), one tablespoonful to a pint 
of starch, gives clothes a beautiful gloss. 

Washhstg Fluid. 
Dissolve in a gallon of hot Avater one pound of concentrated lye, 
one-half ounce salts of tartar, one-half ounce liquid ammonia; when 
cool, bottle for use. Soak the clothes over night; wring out and 
add a cup of the fluid to a boiler of water; put in the clothes and 
boil one hour; rub them as much as is necessary, and rinse well in 
two waters, with a little bluing in the last. But little rubbing is 
necessary, and this method will certainly save clothes, tinje, and 



THE LAUNDRY. 381 

labor. Lace curtains may be washed in the same way. Starch 
them and press out all that is possible in a towel; pin sheets on the 
carpet; spread out the curtains carefully, shaping every scallop on 
the sheets; pin them in place and leave them until dry. 

Gem Washing Fluid. 
One pound salsoda, one ounce borax, one ounce salts of tartar, 
one ounce ammonia, three quarts of rain water. Put the rain water 
over the fire, then put in the salsoda, borax, and salts of tartar. Do 
not put in the ammonia until it gets cold. Put one cup into the- 
boiler Avhen you boil your clothes. 

Hard Soap. 
It is a simple matter to make hard soap, which is not only agi'ee- 
able to use, but which has the great m ri' of cleanliness. To seven 
pounds of tallow use three pounds of rosin, two pounds of potash, 
and six gallons of water; boil for three hourc, or, better still, for 
five; turn from a kettle into a wash-tub; let it stand all night. In 
the morning cut into bars, and lay them on a table or board in the 
sun to harden for two or three days. This quantity will last a 
family of four persons a year, if used for ordinary household 
purposes. 

Soft Soap. 

Take six gallons of soft or rain water, add three pounds of best- 
hard soap (cut fine), one pound salsoda, four tablespoonfuls of 
hartshorn; boil the whole till perfectly dissolved; pour into vessels, 
and when cold it is fit for use. This makes fifty pounds of fine 
jelly soap. 

How TO Wash Flannels. 

There are many conflicting theories in regard to the proper way 
to wash flannels, but I am convinced, fi-om careful observation, that 
the true way is to wash them in water in which you can comfort- 
ably bear your hand. Make suds before putting the flannels in, 
and do not rub soap on the flannel. I make it a rule to have only 
one piece of flannel put in the tub at a time. Wash in two suds if 



382 THE LAUNDRY. 

much soiled; then rinse thoroughly in clean, weak suds, wring and 
hang up; but do not take flannels out of warm water and hano- out 
in a freezing air, as that certainly tends to shrink them. It is 
better to dry them in the house, unless the sun shines. In washing 
worsted goods, such as men's pantaloons, pursue the same course; 
only do not wring them, but hang them up and let them drain; 
while a little damp, bring in and press smoothly with as hot an iron 
as you can use without scorching the goods. The reason for not 
wringing them is to prevent wrinkles. 

How TO Keep Black Gloves from Crocking. 

Black cotton gloves will not crock the hands if scalded in salt 
and water before wearing. The salt prevents fading. When 
almost dry, one should put them on, in order to stretch them and 
keep them in good shape. 

Some one may wish to know how to wash a linen duster in sucli 
a way that it will not look faded. All old colored linen should be 
washed in lukewarm water. If thex-e are any grease spots, use a 
little hard soap, or, better still, remove them with benzine. Rinse 
thoroughly in water in which a third of a cup of salt has been dis- 
solved; the last water must be very blue, and a small handful of 
starch put in. Hang in a shady place; and, as soon as the duster is 
dry, take it down, so that the wind will not blow the starch out. 
If dampened with warm water, it will soon be ready to iron. 

To Remove Scorches. 

Spi-ead over the cloth a paste made of the juice pressed from two 
onions, one-fourth ounce white soap, two ounces fuller's earth, and 
one-half pint vinegar. Mix, boil well, and cook before using. 

Washing Towels. 

Towels with handsome, bright borders should never be boiled, 
or allowed to lie in very hot water; they should not be used till 
they are so much soiled that they need vigorous rubbing to 
make them clean. It is better economy to use more towels than 



THE LAUNDRY. 383 

to wear out a few in a short time. A gentle rubbing in two suds, 
and then conscientious rinsing in warm water and then in cold, 
ought to be all that is required. 

How TO DO UP Shirt Bosoms. 

" Take two ounces of fine white gum arabic powder; put it in a 
pitcher and pour on a pint or more of boiling water, according to 
the degree of strength you desire, and then, having covered it, let 
it stand all night. In the morning pour it carefully from the dregs 
into a clean bottle, cork, and keep it for use. A tablespoonful of 
gum water stirred in a pint of starch, made in the usual manner, 
will give to lawn, either white or printed, a look of newness, when 
nothing else can restore them after they have been washed." 

If your flat-irons are rough and smoky, lay »■ little fine salt on a 
flat surface and rub them well; it will preven* *hem from sticking 
to anything starched, and make them smooth. 



CHAPTER XXXII. 



SEWING ROOM. 

Saving Thread, 
HEN raveling out a fringe on mats or tidies made of Java or 
}[L honeycomb canvas, save the threads. You may use them to 
feather-stitch bands of white cotton cloth for trimming. 
They are serviceable on children's underwear, at the top of Ham- 
burg ruffles, and will last longer than insertion. 

Window Shades. 
Scarlet holland shades, trimmed across the ends with antique lace^ 
are very pretty and serviceable for a dining-room, giving a soft 
and warm light to the room. 

Scrap-Bags. 

It is a good plan to have pretty scrap-bags in sitting-room, bed- 
room, and dining-room, and to hang one near the sewing-machine. 
They may be ornamental, and are certainly useful. Since trying 
this I have saved paper rags enough to buy all the new tin-ware 
needed in the house, and have occasionally bought a broom also. 

Every bit of cloth, every postal-card and circular, that would 
otherwise have been put into the stove as not being worth the 
trouble of a walk to the regular rag-bag, finds its way into the little 
scrap-bag. 

It is a good plan to keep your different kinds of pieces, tape, 
thread, etc., in separate bags, and there is no time lost looking for 
them. 

Pretty bags are made of perforated paper, with a simple vine 

3&4 



SEWING ROOM. 385 

worked around the top, the bottom of the bag being of silk or 
merino, and the top finished with a crocheted scallop; or they may 
be made of Java canvas, with wire around the top to keep it in 
shape ; a piece of old hoopskirt may be used for this purpose. 

Sewing on Buttons. 

; When sewing buttons on children's clothes where there will be 
touch strain on the button, the danger of tearing the cloth out will 
be greatly lessened by putting a small button directly under the 
larger outside button. This applies, of course, only to buttons with 
boles through them. 

Marking Handkerchiefs. 

A plain hem-stitched pocket-handkerchief can he ornamented 
prettily by putting a row of feather-stitching, in white or colored 
working cotton, just above the hem. This is a good way to mark 
handkerchiefs for the wash, providing, of coui-s^j, that the washing 
is done at home. 

Table Covers. 

Simple and tasteful table covers for bed-rooifls may be made of 
pale blue Canton flannel, trimmed with antique lace, or with velvet 
ribbons feather-stitched on, and finished witli fringe made of blue 
split zephyr or Shetland wool. Table cov-ers made of blocks of 
cretonne are very handsome. If two or thr&e persons wish to make 
them, they can buy the materials to bettei- advantage. Let each 
one get several kinds of cretonne, a quarter of a yard of each kind ^ 
' Jhen they can arrange to have each block different. Stitch the 
^blocks on a lining made of unbleached cotton or of colored cam- 
bric. Then, when the blocks are joinc'd, sew on narrow braid, 
which can be bought at any furniture store, or use narrow black 
velvet, worked in fancy stitches, or common black dress braid, 
feather-stitched with canary-colored silk. When cutting out the 
blocks, if a little care is exercised in placing the pattern on the 
cloth, strips will be left with a suitable figure which can be sewed 



386 SEWING ROOM. 

together to make a lambrequin. Have the strips about five inches 
wide. One thing should be thought of when beginning to do fancy 
work, and that is, if you have not time to do it well, do not under- 
take it; it cannot be slighted or hurried over without entirely 
spoiling the effect. In making the spread, unless the blocks are 
exactly square, and the edges not stretched, your spread will not 
hang well on the table. 

Taking Cark of Stockings. 
Before the children's stockings begin to be thin at the knees and 
to need darning, put a piece of cloth under and sew with fine 
stitches, so that they will not show. Soft flannel, or pieces of old 
stockings which are strong enough to be worth using, are better 
than any heavier cloth. By taking the trouble to do this, the 
stockings can be made to last twice as long as without it. 

Putting away Stockings. 
When putting away summer stockings, see that they are clean 
and whole. It is a great comfort to find them ready for use in the 
spring. Have a calico or cambric bag to hold the stockings of each 
member of the family. Label each one, in order to save time, and 
not be obliged to look into each to find the ones you wish to use. 
In summer keep the winter stockings in them. 

To Preserve Old Stockings. 
Pale blue stockings which have faded can have the color restored 
by dipping them into hot water in which common bluing has been 
poured, and some lumps of alum dissolved. Old white stockings 
can be colored in this way, and do a good deal of service. 

Home-made Work-Baskets. 
Pretty little work-baskets may be made of — what do you think? 
the paper pails used to carry oysters home from the market in ! I 
saw one a few days ago; it was lined with pale pink silk, the soft 
silk used for linings. The silk was turned over the outer edge and 
shirred around it. The wire handle was taken off, and a narrow 



SEWING ROOM. 387 

strip of canvas used in place of it. This was covered with silk 
and ornamented with a tiny bow. On each side of the pail was 
pasted a pretty picture. One would not guess of what the basket 
was made. 

Harmonious Color Contrasts. 
The following list of harmonizing colors will be found very useful 
in selecting wall decorations or colors for any purpose. Red with 
green, blue with oi'ange, yellow with violet, black with warm 
brown, violet with pale green, violet with light rose, deep blue with 
golden brown, chocolate with light blue, deep red with gray, 
maroon with warm green, deep blue with pink, chocolate with pea 
green, maroon with deep blue, claret with buff, black with warm 
green. 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

DYEING, ETC. 



e?/ 



VERYTHING should be clean. The goods should be scoured 
in soap and the soap rinsed out. They are often steeped in 
soap lye over night. Dip them into water just before putting 
them into preparations, to prevent spotting. Soft water should be 
iised, sufficient to cover the goods well — this is always understood 
where quantity is not mentioned. When goods are dyed, air, rinse 
well, and hang up to dry. Do not wring silk or merino dresses 
when scouring or dyeing them. If cotton goods are to be dyed a 
light color, they should first be bleached. 

Silks. 

Black. — jMake a weak dye as for black on woollens; work goods 
in bichromate of potash a little below boiling heat, then dip in the 
logwood in same way; if colored in blue vitriol dye, use about 
same heat. 

Brown on Silk or Cotton — Very Beautiful. — After obtain- 
ing a blue color as above, run goods through a solution of prussiate 
of potash, one ounce, to water, one gallon. 

Crimson. — For one pound goods — alum, three ounces; dip at 
hand heat one hour; take out and drain while making new dye by 
boiling ten minutes, cochineal, three ounces, bruised nut-galls, two 
ounces, and cream of tartar, one-fourth ounce, in one pail of water; 
when little cool, begin to dip, raising heat to boil; dip one hour; 
wash and dry. 

Green — Very Handsome. — For one pound goods — yellow oak 



DYEING, ETC. 389 

bark, eight ounces; boil one-half hour; turn off liquor from bark 
and add alum, six ounces; let stand until cold; while making this, 
color goods in blue-dye-tub a light blue; dry and wash; dip in the 
alum and bark dye. If it does not take well, warm the dye a 

little. 

Light Blue. — For cold Abater, one gallon, dissolve alum, one-half 
tablespoonf ul, in hot water, one cup, and add to it, then add chemic, 
one teaspoonful at a time to obtain the desired color — the more 
chemic, darker the color. 

Old Gold. — Take green horse-radish leaves, steep them in water 
and make a strong dye. After dipping the silk or satin into the 
dye thoroughly, wash in soft soap-suds. Iron while damp, laying 
a cloth over the silk or ribbon. This should always be done when 
ironing silk or ribbon, even if it has not been washed, but simply 
sponged. Black silk may be sponged with cold coffee and 
ammonia. 

Orange. — For one pound goods — annotto, one pound; soda, ono 
pound; repeat as desired. 

Purple. — For one pound goods. First obtain a light blue, b^ 
dipping in home-made dye-tub; then dry; dip in alum, four ounces, 
with water to cover when little warm. If color is not full enough, 
add chemic. 

Sk\ Blue on Silk or Cotton — Very Beautiful. — Give goods 
as much color from a solution of blue vitriol, two ounces, to water, 
one gallon, as it will take up in dipping fifteen minutes, then run it 
through lime water. This will make a beautiful and durable sky 
blue. 

Yellow. — For one pound goods — alum, three ounces; sugar of 
lead, three-fourths ounce; immerse goods in solution over night; 
take out; drain and make a new dye with fustic, one pound; dip 
until required color is obtained. 



390 DYEING, ETC. 

Woollen Goods. 

Blue — Quick Process. — For two pounds goods — alum, five 
ounces; cream of tartar, three ounces; boil goods in this one hour, 
then put goods into warm water which lias more or less extract of 
indigo in it, according to the depth of color desired, and boil again 
until it suits, adding more of the blue if needed. 

Chrome Black — Best in Use. — For five pounds goods — blue 
vitriol, six ounces; boil a few minutes, then dip goods three-fourths 
hour, airing often; take out goods, make a dye with three pounds 
logwood, boil one-half hour; dip three-fourths hour and air goods, 
and dip three-fourths hour more. Wash in strong suds. This will 
not fade by exposure to sun. 

Green. — For each pound of goods — fustic, one pound, with alum 
three and one-half ounces; steep until strength is out, and soak 
goods until a good yellow is obtained; then remove the chips and 
add extract of indigo or chemic, one tablespoonful at a time, until 
color suits. 

Madder Red. — To each pound of goods — alum, five ounces; red, 
or cream of tartar, one ounce. Put in goods and bring kettle to a 
boil for one-half hour, then air them and boil one-half hour longer; 
empty kettle and fill with clean water; put in bran one peck; make 
it milk-wai-m, and let it stand until bran rises, then skim off the 
bran and put in ^/ne-half pound madder; put in goods and heat 
slowly until it boils and is done. Wash in strong suds. 

Orange. — For five pounds goods — muriate of tin, six tablespoon- 
fuls; argal, four ounces; boil and dip one hour, and add again to 
the dye one cup madder; dip again one-half hour. Cochineal; 
about two ounces, in place of madder, makes a much brighte: 
color. 

Pink. — For three pounds goods — alum, three ounces; boil and 
dip the goods one hour; then add to the dye, cream of tartar, four 
ounces; cochineal, well pulverized, one ounce; boil well and dip the 
goods while boiling until the color suits. 



DYEING, ETC. 391 

Scarlet — Very Fine, — For one pound goods — cream of tartar, 
one-half ounce, cochineal, well pulvei'ized, one-half ounce, muriate 
of tin, two and one-half ounces; boil up the dye and enter the 
goods; work them briskly for ten or fifteen minutes, then boil one 
and one-half hours, stirring goods slowly while boiling. Wash in 
clear water and dry in the shade. 

Snuff Brown — Dark, — For five pounds of goods — camwood one 
pound; boil it fifteen minutes, then dip goods for three-fourths hour; 
take out goods, add to the dye, two and one-half pounds fustic; boil 
ten minutes and dip goods three-fourths hour; then add blue vitriol 
one ounce, copperas four ounces; dip again one-half hour. If not 
dark enough ; add more copperas. 

Another Method — Any Shade. — Boil goods in a mordant of 
alum two parts, copperas, three parts; then rinse them through a 
bath of madder. The tint depends on the relative proportions of 
the coppera,s and alum; the more copperas the darker the dve. 
Joint weight of both should not be more than one-eighth of weight 
of goods. Mixtures of reds and yellows with blues and blacks, or 
simple dyes, will make aiiy shade. 

"WnTE Color. — For five pounds goods — camwood, two pounds; 
boil fifteen minutes, and dip goods one-half hour; boil again and 
dip one-half hour; then darken with blue vitriol one and one-half 
ounces; if not dark enough, add copperas, one-half ounce. 

Crimson. — Work for one hour in a bath with one pound cochi- 
neal paste; six ounces dry cochineal; one pound tartar; one pint 
protochloride of tin. Wash out and dry. 

Dove and Slate Colors of all Shades. — Boil in iron vessel a 
cup of black tea with teaspoonf uls of copperas, and suflicient water. 
Dilute till you get the shade wanted. 

Purple. — For each pound goods — two ounces cudbear; rinse 
goods well in soap suds, then dissolve cudbear in hot suds — not 
q«ite boiling — and soak the goods until of required color. The 
color is brightened by rinsing in alum water. 



392 DYEING, ETC. 

Salmon. — For each pound goods — one-fourth pound annotto; 
one-fourth pound soap; rinse goods in warm water, put them into 
mixture and boil one-half hour. Shade will be according to amount 
of annotto. 

Yellow — Rich. — Work five pounds goods one-half hour in a 
boiling bath with three ounces bichromate of potassa and two 
ounces alum; lift and expose till well cooled and drained, then 
work one-half hour in another bath with five pounds fustic. Wash 
out and dry. 

Cotton Goods. 

BlaCK. — For five pounds goods — boil them in » decoction of 
three pounds sumac one-half hour, and steep twelve hours; dip in 
lime water one-half hour; take out and let them drip one hour; run 
them through the lime water again fifteen minutes. Make a new 
dye with two and one-half pounds logwood (boiled one hour), and 
dip again three hours; add bichromate potash, two ounces, to the 
logwood dye and dip one hour. Wash in clear cold water and dry 
in shade. Only process for permanent black. 

Green. — Dip goods in home-made blue; dye until blue enough 
is obtained to make the green as dark as required; take out, dry 
and rinse a little. Make a dye with fustic, three pounds, logwood, 
three ounces to each pound goods, by boiling dye one hour; when 
cooled so as to bear hand, put in goods, move briskly few minutes, 
and let lie one hour; take out and thoroughly drain; dissolve and 
add to the dye for each pound of cotton, blue vitrol, one half ounce, 
and dip another hour. Wring out and let dry in th^ shade. By 
adding or diminishing the logwood and fustic, any shade may be 
had. 

Orange. — For five pounds goods — sugar of lead, four ounces; 
boil few minutes; when a little cool, put in goods; dip two hours; 
wring out; make a new dye with bichromate potash, eight ounces; 
madder, two ounces; dip until it suits; if color is too red, take 
small sample and dip into lime water and choose between them. 



DYEING, ETC. 393 

Red, — Muriate of tin, two-thirds cup; add water to cover goods; 
raise to boiling heat; put in goods one hour; stir often; take out, 
empty kettle, put in clean water with nicwood, one pound, steep 
one-half hour at hand heat; then put in goods and increase heat 
one hour — not boiling. Air goods and dip one hour as before. 
Wash without soap. 

Sky Blue. — For three pounds goods — blue vitrol, four ounces; 
boil few minutes, then dip goods three hours; then pass thera 
through strong lime water. A beautiful brown can be obtained by 
next putting goods through a solution of prussiate of potash. 

Yellow. — For five pounds of goods — seven ounces sugar of lead; 
dip goods two hours; make new dye with bichromate of potash, 
four ounces; dip until color suits; wring out and dry. If not yellow 
enough, repeat. 

Coloring Cotton Carpet Rags. 

Blue. — For five pounds of cloth, take five ounces of copperas, 
with two pails of water in a tin or copper boiler; set it over the 
fire till the copperas is dissolved and it begins to heat, then put in 
the cloth, stirring it frequently till it boils, one-half or three-fourths 
of an hour; then remove the cloth where it can drain; pour away 
the copperas water and take two ounces of prussiate of potash in 
about two pails of water in the same vessel; when it is well dis- 
solved and hot, put in the cloth from the copperas water, stirring 
it thoroughly till it boils, one-half an hour, then remove the cloth; 
add (with care and caution, on account of the spattering which 
ensues) one tablespoonf ul of oil of vitrol, and stir it well in the 
dye; replace the cloth, stirring it briskly till it has boiled one-half 
an hour. Should be well rinsed and M'"ashed in clear water to pre- 
vent the dye from making it tender after coloring. 

Yellow. — For five pounds of cloth dissolve one-half pound ol 
sugar of lead in a tub of warm water and twelve ounces of bichro- 
mate of potash m another tub of cold water; soak, rinse, and wring 



394 DYEING, ETC. 

the cloth in the lead water first, then in the other, and return from 
one to the other, till the right shade of color is obtained. 

Orange, — Dip the yellow colored cloth into strong lime water; 
if it should not turn, boil it; rinse all well. 

Green. — Put your blue cloth in the yellow dye in the same 
manner as for coloring yellow. Old calico will take a darker shade 
of blue or green in the same dye with the white cloth. 

To REiroYE Stains. 

We shall commence by dealing with the most common stains, 
namely: 

Ink Stains in Woollen Table-Covers and Carpets may be 
removed by washing the spots with a mixture of a teaspoonf ul of 
oxalic acid in a cup of warm water, after which the places must be 
rinsed with clean cold water to take out the acid. 

Another Method. — Pour milk upon the ink directly and rub it 
with a damp flannel; repeat until the ink disappears. Then wash 
with flannel and water, and rub dry. When milk is at hand, place 
a plate under the ink spot and pour milk on the ink. Allow it to 
lie in the milk, and when removed from the table, if not free from 
ink, dip it in a cup or basin of milk and rinse in cold water. 

To Remove Ink Stains from Floors or Mahogany. — Rub on 
with a cork a little spirits of wine, and wash it off with water. 

To Remove Stains of Port Wine. — Wet the stain with sherry 
or bleaching liquid. 

To Remove Mildew. — Wash in bleaching liquid. 
Stains in Silk. — Stains in colored silk dresses can often be 
removed by pure water. 

Acid, Tea, Wine, and Other Stains. — Stains caused by acids, 
tea, or fruits, can often be removed by spirits of hartshorn, diluted 
with an qual quantity of water. To remove tar, pitch, or turpen 
tine t(^-^ spot may be saturated with sweet oil, or a little tallow may 



DYEING, ETC. 395 

be spread upon it, after which it must remain for twenty-four 
hours. If the article is of linen or cotton, it must be washed in 
the usual way; but if silk or worsted, it is to be rubbed with ether 
or spirits of wine. Pure spirits of turpentine will remove recent 
spots of oil-paint by rubbing. Wax and spermaceti should be 
scraped off and the places where they have been should be rubbed 
with spirits of wine, spirits of turpentine, or mephuric ether. 
Grease spots can commonly be taken out of silk by means of French 
chalk as follows: Scrape a little chalk upon the spot and place 
underneath a warm iron or water plate filled with boiling water. 
The heat melts the grease, which is absorbed by the chalk and it 
can be removed by rubbing or brushing. It may be needful to 
repeat the process. A very good stain mixture is made with half 
an ounce of salts of tartar, half an ounce of sal-ammonia and half a 
pint of soft water. Places to which this is applied should be 
washed afterward in clean water. The mixture of oxalic acid and 
water above described will remove ink stains and iron mould from 
linen and calico. The article must be wetted with it and held over 
the steam of hot water, after which it must be washed with pure 
5vater. If necessary the process may be repeated; but it must be 
Qoted that the preparation is highly poisonous. 

Stains Caused by Scorching. — For whitening scorched linen, 
it is often sufiicient to wet it with soap-suds, and lay it in the hot 
sun. Another method, where milk is plentiful, is to put one pound 
of white soap into a gallon of milk and boil the scorched article in 
it. Another plan is to squeeze out the juice of two middle-sized 
onions, which is boiled in half a pint of vinegar, with one ounce of 
white soap and two ounces of fuller's earth; the mixture is applied 
cool to the scorched part, and when dry, washed off with pure 
•water. 

How TO Restore Stained and Discolored Muslins. — Dis- 
colored muslins may be whitened if they are laid in a flat dish with 
suds made of white soap, and set out in the sun. This takes time 
and the suds have to be renewed daily. In the country, away froro 



396 DYEING, ETC. 

the smoke of towns, white linen may be bleached by being wetted 
with soap-suds and spread out upon the grass in the sun. 

Stains Caused by Mildew. — Mildew is removed in several 
ways from linen. Some dip the article in sour buttermilk, lay it in 
the sun to whiten, and then wash in clean water. Others apply 
soap and chalk, or soap and stai-ch, adding half as much salt as 
there is starch, and the juice of a lemon. 

Linen. — Stains in linen can often be removed by rubbing them 
with soft soap, after which a starch paste is put on and the articles 
are dried in the sun. This process may need to be repeated several 
times. The soap and starch are to be washed off with pure cold 
water. 

Stains on Mahogany, Etc. — The marks made by cups of hot 
water on varnished tables may be taken out with a little oil which 
must be rubbed on, after which a little spirits of wine must be also 
rubbed in. A teaspoonful of oil of vitriol in a tablespoonf ul of 
water, or the mixture of oxalic acid and water, above described, 
will take ink stains out of mahogany. The application is to be 
made quickly with a brush, or piece of flannel, and then washed off 
with milk. 

Silver and Electro-plate Stains. — The obstinate dark stains 
upon silver and electi'o-plate may almost always be removed by 
means of a little diluted sulphuric acid. Pour the acid into a 
saucer, and, with a linen cloth wetted in it, rub the stain till it is 
gone. The article should afterwards be treated to a coat of fine 
whitening and spirits of wine. Let this remain on for half an 
hour; then wipe it off with a silk cloth and polish with soft wash- 
leather or a plate-brush. 

To Take Ink Stains from Mahogany. — Oil of vitriol with 
water, in the proportion of about one of the former to two of the 
latter, may be used for this purpose. Dip a feather into it, just 
touch the stains with the end of the feather, and at once rub it 
quickly off. In most cases the ink stains will be removed with it; 



DYEING, ETC. 397 

if this, however, should not be the case, repeat the process. If the 
vitriol is not at once removed, there is a probability of its merely 
substituting one defect for another — a white mark for a dark stain. 

Oil Stains. — Oil stains in floors and carpets may be treated with 
a paste made of fuller's earth and water, which will have to be 
applied several times. If this paste is applied to colored textures, 
the addition of a little ox-gall will preserve the colors from injury. 
The paste, when dry, can be removed with a brush. 



a 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 



ODDS AND ENDS. 

How TO Protect the Dress. 
ADIES who do their own work will find that, in addition to a 
long apron, a pair of calico sleeves, with a rubber cord at 
the top, is a disj^enser of happiness. One can slip them on 
over cuflfs and nice dress sleeves, get tea, and even wash the tea 
dishes, without injuring the dress. 

PrrTTTN'G Up CiTETAmrs. 

When putting up curtains, which are draped, in a Iom' room, put 
the cornice to which the curtain is to be fastened close to the ceiling, 
even if the window is put lower down, as it gives the effect of 
greater height to the room. The curtains meeting at the top will 
conceal the wall. 

Window Gardens. 

Pretty window gardens may be made by taking the tin boxes in 
tvhicli mackerel is put up, paint them green or scarlet, and put in 
some plants that grow well together. When watering them do not 
use more water than will be absorbed during the day. A few 
experiments will soon enable one to judge correctly in regard to 
the amount, and it is surprising to see how the plants will thrive in 
utter defiance of all the wise things that are said about drainage. 
The tin or zinc cases in which thread is packed will also, when 
painted and placed in a stand, make very good window gardens. 
Water in which gridiron and frying-pan have been washed is an 
excellent fertilizer. 

098 



ODDS AND ENDS. 399 

To Keep Boys and Girls at Home. 
An excellent and well-tried recipe for keeping boys and girls out 
of mischief in the long winter evenings is to give them something 
suitable and interesting to do. Set them to making scrap-books. 
If there are two or three children, let each one take a subject, and 
see what and how much each can collect upon that for his book. 
For example, we have what we call an " Animal Scrap-Book," in 
which is pasted every fact, incident, and anecdote we can find 
relating to animals. We have a dog department, a horse depart- 
ment, etc. It is a valuable book for purposes of illustration or 
reference. 

Lining Stair Carpets. 

It is a common practice to use bits of old carpet as a lining for 
stair carpets, but a much better way is to take strips of an old bed- 
quilt, have them not quite the width of the staircase, wash and dry 
first, then put smoothly over the stairs, tacking in a few places. It 
is softer than old carpet, and will not wear the outer one nearly so 
much. Of course this is a hint for those who cannot afford the 
nice linings that are made on purpose. 

Putting Away Woollen Clothes. 
Great care must be exercised in putting away winter clothes. 
Clean paper sacks, or old cotton or linen pillow cases, will do to 
hold them, providing there are no holes in them. Take the gar- 
ments that are to be laid away out doors on a summer day, let 
them hang on a line for several hours, brush and beat all the dust 
out, then put into the bags; tie them up so that no moth can get 
in, then lay them on clean, dry shelves, or hang them up. 

Pretty and Simple Ornaments. 

A pretty decoration for the corner of a room is a bunch of ripe 

wheat tied with a bright ribbon; or divide the wheat across the 

Bteras, tie, and hang over a picture. The beauty of common things 

is now fully established; cat's-tails, sunflowers, and dandelions are 



400 ODDS AND ENDS. 

at length appreciated. Acorns may also be used to good advantage 
for trimming fancy baskets for waste paper; take a piece of wire 
and fasten around the stems, and you can ai-range them in any way 
to suit yourself. They are pretty bronzed, or may be used in the 
state of nature, as they were picked up in the woods. To bronze 
them, get a little bronze powdered at a drug store, mix it with 
varnish, and apply with a soft cloth. The powder must be used 
very quickly after mixing with the varnish, or that will harden so 
that it will be impossible to use it. 

How TO Make an Old Japanese Umbrella Useful. 

Shut it partly together, then put a wire around the top, tie a 
ribbon to the handle, and use it for a scrap-bag or a waste-paper 
bag. 

To Remove Paint and Putty from Window Glass. 

Put sufficient pearl ash into hot water, to make a strong solution; 
then saturate the paint which is daubed on the glass with it. 
Let it remain till nearly dry, then rub it off hard, with a woollen 
cloth. Pearl ash water is also good to remove putty before it is 
dried on the glass. If it dries on, whiting is good to remove it. 

To Preserve Natural Flotteus. 
Dip the flowers in melted paraffine, withdrawing them quickly. 
The liquid should be only just hot enough to maintain itrs fluidity, 
and the flowers should be dipped one at a time, held by the stalks 
and moved about for an instant to get rid of air bubbles. Fresh- 
cut flowers, free from moisture, make excellent specimens in this 

way. 

Eggs — :To Preserve for Winter Use. 

For every three gallons of water, put one pint fresh slaked lime, 

and common salt, one-half pint; mix well, and let the barrel be 

about half full of this fluid, then with a dish let down your fresh 

eggs into it. tipping the dish after it fills with water, so they roll 

out without cracking the shell, for if the shell is cracked the egg 

will spoil. 



ODDS AA'D ENDS. 401 

Charcoal for Flowers. 
It is an ascertained fact that powdered charcoal, placed around 
rose bushes and other flowers, has the effect of adding much to 
their richness. 

To Revive Gilt Frames. 

Take white of eggs, two ounces; chloride of plaster or soda, onft. 
ounce; mix well; blow the dust from the frame, and apply with i\ 
soft brush. 

Floor-cloths. 

Do not put carpets in your closets; oil cloth or matting is much 
better, and can be easily kept free from dust. Matting after being 
swept should be wiped with a damp cloth. Hot salt and water will 
thoroughly cleanse it and will not discolor it. 

To Pot Butter for Winter Use. 

Mix a large spoonful of salt, a tablespoonf ul of powdered whit^ 
sugar, and one of saltpetre. Work this quantity into six pounds o5 
fresh made butter; put the butter into a stone pot, that is thor^ 
oughly cleansed. When you have finished putting down youv 
butter, cover it with a layer of salt, and let it remain covered unt/i 
cold weather. 

To Prevent Rust. 

To prevent metals from rusting, melt together three parts of laro 
and one of rosin, and apply a very thin coating. It will preserve 
Russia iron stoves and grates from rusting during summer, even iy 
damp situations. The effect is equally good on brass, copper, steei, 
etc. The same compound forms an excellent water-proof paste for 
leather. Boots, when treated with it, will soon after take the usuai 
polish, when blacked, and the soles may be saturated with it. 

Paste. 

How many little things are left unmended for the want of some 

ready-made paste in the house. Liquid glue is often not strong 

enough to hold thick material together; but dextrine answers all pur- 
se 



402 ODDS AND ENDS. 

poses. It is very cheaj^, is mixed with cold Avater, and keeps better 
than paste till next wanted. Keeping some of the powder in the 
house And a sj^ecial pot or jar for mixing, will be found most 
convenient. It can be made thick or thin, to suit what it is 
required for. 

French Polish. 

Boil in a quart of liquid, consisting of two parts of vinegar, and 
one part of water, one-fourth pound of glue and the same quantity 
of logwood chips, with about the sixth part of an ounce of the 
following ingredients: Soft soap, isinglass, and finely-powdered 
indigo. When boiled for a quarter of an hour it should be strained 
off, and when cold be fit for use. It should be applied with a 
piece of soft rag or sponge, the shoes being quite dry and free 
from dirt. 

To Preserve Steel Articles from Rust. 

Paint the articles over with white beeswax dissolved in benzole. 
The benzole rapidly evaporates, leaving the steel covered with a 
thin coating of the wax. As the solution is very volatile it should 
be kept in a bottle tightly corked. 

To Preserve Flowers. 

Take a jar sufficiently large to contain the flower to be preserved, 
and in the bottom place a lump of clay or some similar substance 
in which the flower must be stuck upright. Then pour in carefully 
fine dry sand till the flower is completely embedded in it. This 
must be done very slowly and cautiously so as not to disturb the 
leaves of the flower. Dried in this way, flowers preserve their 
form and much of their color for months, and are interesting and 
pretty for the winter decoration of rooms. 

Incombustible Dresses. 

Ladies' dresses, even of the lightest and most inflammable nature, 
may be rendered almost completely fire-proof by being dipped in a 
solution of the chloride of zinc. When they are thus treated, it 
will be found almost impossible to make them blaze by contact 



ODDS AND ENDS. 403 

with flame; or either of the following will answer the same pur- 
pose : 

Dissolve half an ounce of alum or sal-ammoniac, and mix it with 
the water in Avhich the dress is rinsed. 

Half the Aveight of whiting mixed with the starch will render 
lace, net, muslin gauze, or any other light stuff, perfectly unin- 
flammable. 

Home-Made Table Syeup. 

Take one pint and a half of water, four pounds of sugar, one 
teaspoonful of pulverized alum, put in a kettle and boil three 
minutes. Strain while hot. For maple syrup, one quart of water 
for four pounds of sugar. 

The Chromograph, 

The copygi'aph, chromograph, and a variety of other names have 
been given to the simple arrangement by which letters, drawings, 
plans, music, etc., can be copied at a slight cost. The process has 
been patented in England, but in advance of any patent in this 
country, a number of persons have made the article and advertised 
it for sale at prices varying from three dollars to seven dollars and 
fifty cents, according to size, in either case allowing very handsome 
profits. A tablet of gelatine is prepared thus: Take one part by 
weight of gelatine (glue will do just as well), soak in two parts of 
water till melted, to which add four parts of glycerine, with a few 
drops of carbolic acid, and sufficient whiting or white lead to give 
the whole a milky appearance. Pour the mixture into a shallow 
zinc or tin dish, and it will be ready for use in about twelve hours. 
The use of the whiting or white lead is to show up the writing on 
the composition, and to enable the washing off to be observed more 
easily. The ink used is made of one part violet methylated aniline 
(Hoffman's purple), seven parts distilled water, and one part alcohol; 
but acetic rosaniline, boiled down in alcohol till it does not run in 
writing, forms a capital red ink. To use the process, write on a 
hard-finished paper with the ink, taking care that the writing is 



404 ODDS AND ENDS. 

thick enough to show a green lustre Avhen dry. When thoroughly 
4i-y place it face downwards on the jelly, rub it gently to bring it 
well into contact, and leave for three minutes, then peel it off. It 
will leave a portion of the ink neatly transferred to the jelly; then 
place the paper to be printed on the writing and pass the hand 
over, bring it well in contact as before, peel it off, and it will bring 
away a perfect copy of the original. In this way sixty to eighty 
copies may be made; by using a thick pen and plenty of ink one 
hundred good copies may be taken. If the original still shows a 
green lustre, another transfer may be made. When exhausted, wash 
off the ink from the jelly with a sponge and cold water. A layer of 
the compound one-quarter of an inch thick would give five thousand 
copies at least, if not twice that number. If the jelly is injured it 
can easily be melted down over a spirit lamp or in an oven. After 
melting, and in the first instance after making, the surface should 
be washed with cold water. 

Lime Water. 

One of the most useful agents of household economy, if rightly 
understood, is lime water. Its mode of preparation is as follows: 
Put a stone of fresh unslacked lime about the size of a half -peck 
measure into a large stone jar or unpainted pail, and pour over it 
slowly and carefully (so as not to slacken too rapidly), a teakettle 
full (four gallons) of hot water, and stir thoroughly; let it settle, 
and then stir again two or three times in twenty-four hours. Then 
bottle carefully, all that can be poured off in a clear and limpid 
state. 

Uses. — It is often sold by druggists as a remedy for children's 
summer complaints, a teaspoonful being a dose in a cup of milk,, 
and when diarrhoea is caused by acidity of the stomach, it is an 
excellent remedy, and when put into milk gives no unpleasant taste, 
but rather improves the flavor. 

When put into milk that might curdle when heated, it will jjre- 
vent its so doing, and can then be used for puddings and pies. A 



ODDS AND ENDS. 405 

little stirred into cream or milk, after a hot day or night, wil) pre- 
vent its turning when used for tea or coffee. 

It is unequalled in cleansing bottles or small milk vessels, or 
babies' nursing bottles, as it sweetens and j)urifies withuut leaving 
an unpleasant odor or flavor. 

A cupful, or even more, mixed in the sponge of bread or cakes 
made over night, will prevent it from souring. 

Pekservixg AuTUMisr Leaves. 

These may be easily preserved and retain their natural tints, or 
nearly so, by either of the following methods: As they are gath- 
ered they may be laid between the leaves of a magazine until thtf 
book is full, and left Avith a light weight upon them until the mois' 
ture of the leaves has been absorbed; two or three thicknesses of 
paper should intervene between the leaves. If the leaves are large 
or in clusters, take newspapers, lay them on a shelf and use in the 
same manner as above. Then dip the leaves into melted wax (such 
as is used for moulding fruits, etc.), into which you will have to 
put a few drops of turpentine and lay ujjon newspapers to harden 
perfectly. This will make the leaves pliable and natural, and give 
sufficient gloss. Great care should be taken that the wax is of the 
right temperature. This can be ascertained by the first leaf which 
is dipped in. Draw out gently over the pan both sides of the leaf 
and hold it up by the stem. If the wax is too hot, the leaf will 
shrivel — if too cool, it will harden in lumps on the leaf. 

Another method is to iron each leaf with a middling hot iron 
until the moisture is all out of them. Are best without varnish. 

Skeleton Leaves, 
Boil the leaves in equal parts of rain water and soft soap until 
you can separate the pulp from the skin; take them out into cleai 
water; lay the leaf to be cleaned on glass, the upper side of the 
leaf next to the glass; then with a tooth brush remove all pulp and 
skin, turn the leaf and repeat the process; when thoroughly done 
put the leaf to bleach in this solution: One i>ound sal soda, dis- 



406 ODDS AND ENDS. 

solved in five pints rain water; one-half pound chloride of Wuxx. m 
three pints water; allow twenty-four hours for the latter to dissolve. 
Strain out the sediment, and pour out the clear solution of lime into 
the solution of sal soda. The result will be a thick buttermilk 
solution, otherwise the lime was not strong enough. Filter this 
until it is perfectly clear. For leaves, use one part of solu- 
tion to one part of water; for ferns, use the solution full 
strength. When perfectly white, remove to clear water; let 
stand for several hours, changing two or three times; the 
last water should be a little blue; float out on paper, press in 
books when nearly dry. In mounting use mucilage made of five 
parts of gum arable, three parts white sugar, two parts of starch; 
add a very little water, boil and stir until thick and Avhite. 

To Restore Frozen Plants. 
As soon as discovered, j^our cold water over the plant wetting 
every leaf thoroughly. In a few moments it will be crystallized 
with a thick coating of ice. In this state place it in the dark, care- 
fully covered with a newspaper. The ice will slowly melt, leaving 
the plant in its original state of health. 

For Crystallizing Grass. 
Take one and one-half pounds of rock alum, pour on three pints 
of boiling water; when quite cool put into a wide-mouthed vessel, 
hang in your grasses, a few at a time. Do not let them get too 
heavy, or the stems will not support them. You may again heat 
alum and add more grasses. By adding a little coloring it will 
g:vs variety. 

Frosting for Windows. 

To shut out a disagreeable view from a back window, the glass 
may be rendered ornamental, and the obnoxious objects shut out, 
by a very simple plan, which makes a fair imitation of ground glass. 
By washing the glass over with a hot saturated solution of Epsom 
salts, or sal-ammoniac, or Glauber's salts, or blue stone, very beau- 
tiful effects of crystallization can be obtained by which the above- 



ODDS AND ENDS. 407 

purpose is sei'ved and the window has also a very ornamental 
appearance. By a saturated solution is meant one containing as 
much of the salt as the water will dissolve. The solution must be 
applied while hot and with a brush. 

Black Tkacing Paper, 

Rub smooth a little lampblack and mix with sweet oil. Paint 
over the paper, and dab it dry with a fine piece of linen. Put this 
under the pattern, and upon the material to which you wish the 
pattern transferred, and go over the lines with a hard point of 
wood or metal. If you wish it, the transferred lines may be fixed 
by using a pen with a kind of ink composed of a little stone-blue 
well mixed with water in a cup, vvdth a small piece of sugar added 
to it. 

Sympathetic Ink. 

One of the best known kinds of sympathetic ink consists of a weak 
solution of chloride or nitrate of cobalt. Writing executed with 
such a solution is invisible until warmed, when it appears green or 
bluish, disappearing on exposure to moist air. 

Valuable Cement. 

Two parts, by weight, of common pitch, and one part gutta 
percha, melted together in an iron vessel, makes a cement that 
holds together, with wonderful tenacity, wood, stone, ivory, leather, 
porcelain, silk, woollen, or cotton. It is well adapted to aquariums- 

Cement for Rubber or Leather. 

Dissolve one ounce of gutta percha in one-half pound chloro- 
form. Clean the parts to be cemented, cover each with the solu- 
tion and let them dry twenty or thirty minutes, warm each part in 
the flame of the candle, and press very firmly together till dry. 

Diamond Cement. 

Dissolve thirteen ounces of white glue in a glue-pot containing a 
pint and a half of soft water; when the glue is dissolved, stir in 



408 ODDS AND ENDS. 

three ounces of white lead, and boil till well mixed; remove from 
the fire, and, when cool, add half a pint of alcohol; bottle 
immediately and keep well corked. 

Weights and Measures. 

Ten eggs are equal to one pound. 

One pound of brown sugar, one pound of white sugar, 
powdered or loaf sugar broken, is equal to one pint. 

One pound of butter, when soft, is equal to one pint. 

One pound and two ounces Indian meal is equal to one quart. 

One pound and two ounces of wheat flour is equal to one 
quart. 

Four large tablespoons are equal to one-half gill. 

Eight large tablespoons are equal to one gill. 

Sixteen large tablespoons are equal to one-half pint. 

A common-sized wineglass holds half a gill. 

A common-sized tumbler holds half a pint. 

Four ordinary teacups of liquid are equal to one quart. 

Care of Tools. 

In visiting families in this and many other States, one would 
hardly come to the conclusion that it takes money to buy tools. 
Judging from the care, or rather lack of care, which some men 
give them, one would naturally infer that they were worthless. 
I have frequently seen a mower and reaper, as well as plows, 
harrows, etc., left right in the field where last used. But a few 
days ago, I saw a mower half buried in the snow in a back field. 

It seems strange that this should be so. Are men in northern 
Michigan more careless of tools than men in other States ? 
There is no reason why they should be. Nothing would pay 
better than to shelter tools from rains, frosts and snows. Rust 
wears out tools much faster than ordinary use. When a tool is 
not wanted for a while, if it is properly dried, oiled or 
painted, as circumstances demand, then put away in a dry, 
sheltered place, it will keep in better condition, and be read}' for 
use when wanted. 



ODDS AND ENDS. 409 

Sheltering tools is certainly good economy, and it is also good 
economy to examine them often, tightening nuts, and making 
any needed repairs. Tools that are intended to be sharp, cut 
much better if thej^ are sharp, and not dull. Reapers, mowers, 
drills, and all the larger implements, when not needed any more 
for the season, should be taken apart, thoroughly cleaned, each 
bolt dipped in castor oil or melted tallow, and then replaced. 
Every portion of the wood-work should be covered with a good 
coating of paint, and the iron work well oiled with castor oil or 
crude petroleum. Wagons and sleighs should also be properly 
housed and cleaned. The economizing man will always see that 
his tools are properly cared for. 

Caee op the Hands and Nails. 

Housekeepers often have to deplore the unsightly condition 
into which hard, and often rough, work brings their hands. A 
little careful daily attention to these useful members will insure 
at least more comfort, if not positive beauty. Because you wash 
dishes, and clothes, and floors, you need not of a necessity have 
a pair of red, hard hands, if you heed the following suggestions: 

Whenever you wash your hands, use tepid soft water, if 
possible, and a good soap; strong, cheap soap will always make 
them rough. Wash them clean, too; it chaps them to leave 
them half clean. A very little ammonia in the water helps the 
process materially. Always dry them thoroughly on a soft 
towel. In washing dishes or anything else, avoid putting the 
hands into hot water. It is just as well to use water at a 
comfortable temperature. Avoid, also, going out of doors with 
wet hands. It will pay to take the trouble to dry them. If in 
cold weather, put on a pair of mittens or gloves to do any work 
out of doors, particularly to hang up clothes on wash-day, when 
the skin is more sensitive from having been in water. 

If with a-11 your care, the hands become chapped or cracked, 
as delicate skin is apt to do, heal them with glycerine and rose 
water; a few drops of rose water will be enough for an ounce of 



410 ODDS AND ENDS. 

glycerine. The addition of a little ammonia to the same lotion 
makes a preparation that will keep the hands invariably soft, if 
from a few drops to half a teaspoonful is rubbed into them every 
night before retiring. The hands should be moist upon 
applying, and the rubbing should be continued until the lotion 
is all absorbed. Sweet cream is also excellent for badly chapped 
or cracked hands; some prefer pure vaseline. As a dry 
application, powdered starch is both healing and soothing. 

An important part of a beautiful hand is a row of rosy, w^ell- 
kept nails. When the hands are dried after washing them, 
always press back the skin around the nail with the towel. 
Never cut it, as that causes hang-nails, and makes the finger 
inflamed. There should be a half moon at the base of every 
healthy nail. Keep pushing the skin back, a little every day, 
till it is so. Keep the nails of a uniform length, not by 
cutting, but by filing. Nearly every pocket knife is furnished 
with a nail file, and a manicure file is not very expensive. Never 
file the nail itself, only, the end. Oil the nail with a little 
vaseline, and polish with a polisher, or with a piece of chamois 
leather or firm soft flannel, to make them smooth and rosy. 

Beds. 

So much of our time is passed in bed, that it is well to 
consider the beds upon which we repose. Let us examine this 
elaborate pile, designed to cushion our motionless forms, and 
lure the goddess of sleep. The prime requirement made by 
most of us is that the bed shall be comfortable. So there is 
usually heaped together an immense amount of springs, sacks of 
straw, sacks of feathers, bolsters, sheets, comfortables, blankets, 
spreads, and pillows, ad libitum. These are arranged with the 
utmost care, in such a manner as will best suit our tired frames, 
and give us a sense of present ease. We do not usually think 
farther. Seldom is asked the question, " How will this seem- 
ingly delightful couch affect my health ? " What we want is a 
comfortable bed. If it is so, why trouble ourselves farther ? If 



ODDS AND ENDS. 411 

we get our present enjoyment at the expense of our future 
health, surely something is wrong. 

Good comfortable beds certainly are very desirable; but it is 
not necessary that health should be sacrificed in the enjoyment 
of them. It is too often the case that fine snowy sheets cover a 
vast amount of impurity. Many housekeepers who are models 
of neatness in all other respects, fail to make their beds fit 
resting places for the bodies of those who sleep therein. Many 
an inviting feather bed, upon which we throw ourselves with a 
grateful feeling of repose, has not been renovated for years. It 
is filled with an immense amount of impurity, drawn from the 
bodies of those who have slept thereon. Now we envelop 
ourselves in this sack of poison, simply because it is soft and 
covered with clean sheets. When we arise, we wonder at the 
depressing headache, and fail to account for the strange languor 
that has taken possession of us. All beds, no matter of what 
material they are composed, need renovating thoroughly and 
often. 

If any one has been ill with a contagious disease, the bed 
upon which he has lain should either be entirely discarded or 
thoroughly cleansed, and disinfected by soaking in water where 
there is either carbolic acid or spirits of ammonia. It should be 
afterward dried in the sun. 

Beware where you sleep! Better rest your weary frame upon 
a hard mattress than upon downy cushions filled with disease. 

Puke Water. 

Neither man nor beast can live long without this necessity. 
Pure water, like pure air, is indispensable to good health. To 
impure water can be directly traced many of the ills of life. It 
is both detrimental and dangerous to the life of man or beast. 
Then since it is so important that all should have their supply 
of water just as pure as possible, we cannot be too careful about 
it, so much is involved. 

Water is the most universal and powerful solvent known. 



412 ODDS AND ENDS. 

Not only does it necessarily become impregnated with some of 
the materials of the strata through which it flows, even in deep 
wells, but it will be contaminated by putrifying organic 
substances on the surface of the earth near the well. Wells 
should be as far as possible from barn-yards, outhouses, and 
marshes, and should be on ground elevated above them. The 
earth is the great percolator; but although liquids may be 
filtered through several strata, their component parts will not be 
changed. So if a well is where the waste water from the house 
can filter into it, or filth from any other source, the water 
becomes heavily charged with impurities, and is thus ladened 
with germs of disease, which are sources of great danger. 
Typhoid fever and diphtheria often start in this way, depriving 
families and neighborhoods of many a loved one. 

The use of impure water for stock, while it is better than no 
water, is often attended with danger and damage. The disease 
germs will affect animals as well as men. Not long ago, 
several persons in one house were threatened with typhoid fever. 
The attending physician examined the surroundings, the well 
included, and found it full of typhoid germs. He carried home 
a little of the water, and placed some of the germs upon a 
piece of potato, which was given to a dog to eat after a few 
hours. The dog died the next day. Be careful about your 
water supply. 

Boots and Shoes. 

In all civilized and enlightened lands, people wear either boots 
or shoes; and it is desirable that all should understand how 
important to perfect health it is that the foot covering should 
be sensible and comfortable. They should be neither too large 
nor too small, too thick nor too thin. In this, as in all other 
matters, common sense should be exercised, and not pride or 
vanity. A boot or shoe very much too large will gall the foot: 
but there is not half the danger of getting them too large that 
there is of their being too small. A boot too thick and heavy 
is not a pleasant or comfortable thing to wear; but there is less 



ODDS AND ENDS. 41:^ 

danger of erring in this direction than of having them too thin. 
Shoes too thin and too low is the rule, and is where the danger 
lies. I want to emphasize this. Upon the sole of every low-cut 
shoe should be stamped, "Danger! Be careful!" Many a 
daughter has been carried to her grave, because she wore low-cut 
shoes unadvisedly. The danger has been pointed out time and 
again by observing physicians and sensible people; but does it 
do any good to raise the red flag and cry, Beware? Let the 
hectic flush, the pale cheek and the hollow cough of many of 
our girls who should be pictures of health, serve to emphasize 
the danger, and let their thin transparent hand point toward it. 
It may be then that others will select a shoe not quite so low, 
not quite so thin, not quite so narrow and pointed. It may be 
they will realize that they must be more careful about wearing 
slippers or thin soles in damp, cold weather, or on the dewy 
lawn. 

Boots and shoes with high, small heels are unhealthful things 
to wear. They bring the weight of the body upon the sensitive 
part of the foot, instead of upon the tougher heel. Who 
wonders so many ladies are nervous and irritable when the 
nerves, centering in the hollow part of the feet, are under 
constant irritation and strain? There are also many other 
troubles which are directly caused by French heels, and the 
unnatural gait they necessitate. A broad low heel is better, 
will give more comfort, and not so many a sprained ankle. In 
winter and wet weather a medium weight boot, with high 
top and thick soles, is the best for both sexes. Boots can be 
kept soft and pliable by an occasional application of castor oil; 
and if wet inside can be nicely dried without shrinking, by 
filling them wdth hot oats, and letting them stand a few hours. 

Cisterns. 

In this age of great improvements, a cistern is a necessity, not 
only to the house but often to the barn. As they are not 
expensive, all can afford them. The best ones have a wall either 



414 ODDS ANDE NDS. 

of stone or brick, cemented on the inside. They are supplied in 
nnaiy instances with an appropriate filter, which is a great 
advantage. These are usually cheap arrangements, which let 
the water pass through sand, gravel or charcoal, or better still, 
all three combined. 

Should the water become stale or impure, it can be deodorized 
and purified by charcoal, which can be put loose into the water, 
or into a not too thick bag, and then sunk in the water. Where 
the water seems roily, it can be settled by pouring in pulverized 
alum, and letting it settle. The water should occasionally be 
all pumped or drawn out, the cistern rinsed well in clean water 
and wiped out dry. 

Cellars. 

The cellar is a convenient room, which should be kept dry 
and clean. If under the house, as most cellars are, it should be 
kept sweet by the admission of plenty of pure air and as much 
sunshine as possible — these are the two great renovators for 
cellars. Let no vegetables decay there, or rubbish decompose. 
Danger lurks in deep, dark, damp, unventilated cellars. 
Typhoid fever and diphtheria often generate there. A foul 
cellar poisons the whole house, and affects its inmates, fre- 
quently causing untimely death, which we lay to Providence. 

Then clean up and clean out. Sweep down cobwebs, carry 
out rubbish, w^iitewash the walls and ceiling. Disinfect with 
copperas, lime, carbolic acid, chloride of lime, or bromo chlo- 
ridum. Let in plenty of pure air and the health-bringing 
sunshine. 

The less wood in a cellar, the better it is. The floor should 
not be of wood, or at least it is better if made of stone. Cobble- 
stones placed upon the bottom of a cellar after it is properly 
graded, and pressed down into the earth, so as to make a firm 
foundation, then cemented over on top, makes a cheap, durable, 
and healthful cellar bottom. 

Out-door cellars can be cheaply made by digging into a bank, 
if there is one handy; or it can be made on a level, either partly 



ODDS AND ENDS. 415 

below the surface of the ground or wholly above it. It cau be 
made perfectly frost-proof by haviug a double wall of stoue, 
brick, or timber, so that there is a free space for the air to 
circulate between the inner and outer walls. A cellar can also 
be made under a barn, where it will be serviceable for keeping 
roots and vegetables for stock, and will be easily accessible when 
wanted. 

Fires. 

Fire is a good servant, but a hard master. As the destruction 
of property by this means is often accidental, a few suggestions 
may help to guard you against carelessness in this direction, and 
also to know what to do should a fire break out. In seasons of 
the year when stubble, leaves and grass are very dry, care should 
be taken about setting fires, both in city and country, for fear 
of not being able to control them. Never permit any one to 
smoke in or around barns, shops, or buildings where there is 
litter which could be easily ignited. Be careful about leaving 
matches w^here mice or young children can get at them. Be 
careful about leaving young children, who lack judgment, alone 
with candles, lamps, or fire in any shape. 

In case of fire, remember that water, and the absence of air, 
are the great extinguishers. Do not open doors and windows, 
but keep them closed as much as possible. If it is from kero- 
sene oil, to smother with a cloth of some kind, or by pouring on 
flour, is better than to use water, which may only scatter the 
flames. If your clothing is on fire, do not run about getting 
more air to feed the flame, but smother it with a quilt, blanket, 
rug, or any heavy garment you can get hold of ; then pour 
on water to cool the clothing and skin, and the hot, burnt 
cinders, that will eat into the flesh. 

If a barn or stable containing horses is burning, throw some- 
thing over their heads to blind them before trying to lead them 
out, and when safely out, remove to some distance or conflne 
them so that they cannot rush back into the burning building 
to their destruction. 



416 ODDS AND ENDS. 

Care of Wounds. 

In ordinary cuts, there is nothing better than glue or varnish. 
Press the parts together and apply. Where support and pres- 
sure are needed, and at the same time the wound must discharge, 
use mosquito netting, which is cool and not cumbersome. If 
there is no discharge from the wound, you can use the ordinary 
bandage. Pain from wounds can be much relieved by holding 
them in a smoke of wool or brown sugar on live coals. Vaseline 
is an excellent unguent for any wound. 

To prevent the discoloration of a bruise, there is nothing^ 
better than frequent applications of hot water. Bites of insects 
and bee stings are relieved by the application of aqua ammonia. 

For burns and scalds, one pint of sweet oil, and two drachms 
of carbolic acid, well mixed, makes a good application. Shake 
each time before using. Or, one teaspoonf ul of finely pulverized 
alum, mixed thoroughly with the whites of two eggs and a 
teacupful of fresh lard is excellent for a burn. Spread on a 
cloth and apply. The whites of eggs alone may be used for the 
same purpose. Another remedy is to cover with finely pulver- 
ized charcoal, or common cooking soda. Lime water and sweet 
oil used in equal parts are often applied with good result. 

Where the burn or scald involves a large portion of the body 
or limbs, the bran poultice is excellent. Simply apply moistened 
bran. It can be changed when desired, but not removed from 
the surface of the burn, as this often disturbs the patient^ 
prolonging the suffering. 

Cleaning Coat Collars. 

Take a piece of ammonia stone (carbonate of ammonia) the 
size of a walnut, and put it in a cup of warm water. When 
dissolved, take a piece of clean flannel and dip it into the solu- 
tion and rub the collar thoroughly. It will remove the gloss 
from seams and elbows. Aqua ammonia or benzine may be 
used. They are not expensive, and will not change the color of 



ODDS AND ENDS. 417 

goods like soap-suds. Do not use benzine in a room where 
there is a light or a fire, as it is very inflammable. 

The Feet. 

The care of the feet is an important item in securing good 
health. This is a matter that receives far too little attention. 
r-Many of the hard colds that people take, that often injure the 
health and even destroy life, are traceable to improper care of 
the feet. Thin shoes or wet and cold feet do the mischief. 
Cold feet indicate an unbalanced circulation. Use a warm foot- 
bath, then dry and rub the feet with a coarse towel till the skin 
glows; this increases the circulation, and invites the blood to 
the extremities. 

Children should never be compelled or permitted to go to bed 
with cold, damp feet. Those in charge should see that the feet 
are warm and dry, if they would save them from croup, diph- 
theria, or fatal sore throat. Thick woolen stockings and strong 
boots with substantial heels must be worn whenever the weather 
is cold or damp. Attention to this will be a great saving in 
point of health, this being especially true of young ladies and 
children. 

Carpets. 

In sweeping, a carpet sweeper is best for brussels carpet. If 
a common broom must be used, it should be fine and light. In 
sweeping ingrain or rag carpets, coarse salt, slightly dampened 
and scattered over the carpet, will be found a great help in 
removing dust. The sweeping must, however, be very thorough, 
or the carpet will be sticky. Carpets should be aired and dusted 
often, as the fine dust and sand which gather on them cut the 
threads. Heavy brown paper is better than straw to place 
between the carpets and floor. A carpet paper is now made 
which is moth proof. 

If you have a spare bedroom, seldom used, you can make a 
cheap carpet that will last for years in this way. Go to the 
paper hangers, and select paper resembling carpet as nearly i.s 
27 



418 ODDS AND ENDS. 

possible. First paper the floor with heavy brown paper, then 
over this paste your wall paper. When the floor is all covered, 
size and varnish. Use dark glue and common furniture varnish. 
By putting rugs in front of the larger pieces of furniture, you 
have as pretty a floor as you can wish, and at a trifling expense. 

Cement foe Kerosene Lamp. 
Three parts of resin, one of caustic soda, and five of water. 
This composition is mixed with half its weight of plaster of 
Paris. It sets firmly in about three-quarters of an hour. 

Floors. 

Every home has a floor of some kind. If not carpeted, it 
should be oiled or painted, not only to look better, but to be 
more easily cared for. The painting may be done by a profes- 
sional painter, with the best of materials, or it can be done by 
home help, using cheaper material. 

Here is a very good recipe for a cheap floor paint: Soak half 
a pound of glue in water over night, then boil it to a jelly, 
using the water in which it was soaked. Mix yellow ochre and 
whiting with a little water to a light tint, and stir it into the 
glue. Apply when warm to the floor, which must be dry and 
free from grease. It quickly dries, when it needs a coating of 
linseed oil. A second coat can be applied if desired, after the 
first is thoroughly dried. 

Whitewash. 
Slake good stone lime by pouring on only a very little water 
at a time, continually repeating it, and never letting it get dry, 
as this burns the life out of it. When slaked, pour on water 
until it is of the consistency of milk, then to every three 
gallons, add half a pound of sulphate of zinc, stirring it well. 
It is then ready for use. 

Glue. 
An excellent liquid glue is made by dissolving glue in nitric 
ether. The ether will dissolve only a certain amount of 



ODDS AND ENDS. 419 

glue, consequently the glue cannot be made too thick. Glue 
thus made is about the consistency of molasses and is doubly 
as adhesive as that made with hot water. If a few bits of India 
rubber are added, and the solution allowed to stand a few days, 
with frequent stirring, it will be all the better, and will resist 
dampness much better. 

Spontaneous Combustion. 

Spontaneous combustion is a source of great danger, and 
partly because it is not very well understood by the masses. 

Old clothes or rags, especially if saturated with grease or oil, 
should never be allowed to lie around loose or be stowed away 
closely in the garret or any other place. Whether dry or wet, 
they might take fire spontaneously; it is not improbable that 
many mysterious fires have been originated in this way. Then 
be careful about such rubbish and save yourself such a 
misfortune. 

Carpet rags, old carpets, paper rags, or any such thing, if 
stored in quantities, especially if crowded into small compass, 
are all liable to spontaneous combustion, and may do great harm. 
Great care should be taken in regard to the matter, and if such 
things must be stored in large quantities, an out-of-the-way 
building should be used. 

Cement for Broken China. 
Make a thick solution of gum arabic in water, then stir in 
plaster of Paris until the mixture becomes a sticky paste. Apply 
with a brush to the broken edges; stick them together and in 
three days the article cannot be broken in the same place. 

Useful Hints. 

Cultivate a habit of observation, that you may not go through 
the world without knowing what there is in it. 

Never fold down corners of book leaves. Never mark, deface 
or lend a borrowed book. Never handle a book with dirty 
hands. 



420 ODDS AND ENDS. 

Mark all your linen — bed, table and personal linen — with 
indelible ink. It will prevent many losses. A common new 
steel pen may be used, or glass pen, which is more expensive. 

If you are a Christian, show your colors; you will command 
the respect of your conscience and associates, and the approval 
of God. 

Eat nuts with salt. It is a preventive of, and a remedy for 
indigestion, resulting from eating them. 

A little milk instead of soap may be used in washing dishes. 

Dampers in stove pipes, while they save wood, are injurious to 
health, by not permitting the pernicious gas generated by the 
combustion of fuel to escape from the room. Do not keep them 
closed tight, especially if burning coal. 

Keep grain bags clean and whole, and in a place where you 
can readily find them. You will save yourself much annoyance 
thereby. 

Never put pins or needles in the mouth; much suffering is 
often caused by their being accidentally swallowed. 

By all means preserve your family record. Sometime you 
may need it greatly. 

A suitable place for all writings and papers of importance is 
desirable. They can thus be kept together, saving much time 
and anxiety. 

A cloth sack filled with sand or bran and heated, is excellent 
as a means of artificial heat for the sick. 

Danger often arises through carelessness with matches. Keep 
them in a metal box, if possible, away from children and mice; 
and when you light one, be careful where you throw the 
burning stub. 

Raw onions grated fine and used warm make a good poultice 
to allay pain. They are excellent in a severe cold. 

Teach children method and order in all things from the first. 

Preserve your marriage certificate; you or your children may 
need it. 



ODDS AND ENDS. 421 

Swimming ought to be a part of the education of every boy 
and girl. Many valuable lives may be saved yearly were all 
boys taught to swim. It is a strange fact that not one-half of 
our sailors know how to swim. No town in the land should be 
without its public swimming bath. 

To make a sewing machine run easy, oil the bearings with 
kerosene oil, and run the machine a few minutes; then wipe the 
gum and dust from the bearings, and oil with pure sperm oil. 
Kerosene should not be allowed to remain on the machine, as it 
gums up quicker than other oil. Never use anything but the 
purest oil, and the machine will rarely become gummed. 

A good fire-kindler is made by soaking a corn cob in kerosene 
oil. When needed, put in a cob, set fire to it, lay on the fuel, 
and your fire will burn. 

To loosen a fruit jar cover, place the top in hot water for a 
minute or two; it will then unscrew easily. 

To bake milk, put it in a jar or dish, cover with writing paper 
or otherwise, and let it stand in a moderately heated oven from 
six to ten hours. It will be very much like cream and is very 
nutritious. 

When churning butter, have the cream at the temperature of 
55 degrees, or as near that as possible. 

Hot alum water is very useful to destroy insects. Put the alum 
into hot water, and let it boil until the alum is dissolved. 
Apply hot with a brush and you will destroy them. Scald floors 
while the carpets are up, to prevent moths. 

To keep cheese from molding, saturate a cotton or linen cloth 
with strong vinegar, and cover the cheese closely. Renew 
occasionally. It will prevent mold, and if well covered will 
keep flies and insects away. 

If you wish a good crop of strawberries, give them plenty of 
water. Continue the watering as long as they need it. 

To keep fish sweet, put a little vinegar on them. They will 
keep almost as good as on ice, some think even better. 



422 



ODDS AND ENDS. 



Intekest Tables. 
It very frequently occurs that the lady of the household finds 
it necessary to figure interest, and to make this book useful 
to her in that direction, very simple but complete tables at 6 
and 7 per cent, are given: 

Example : 

Desired to obtain the interest on $1,111,00, for 1 year. 4 
months, and 27 days, at 6 per cent. 

Turning to the tables you will see that the time is given in 
the left-hand column, the amounts on which you desire to find 
the interest are given at the heads of the various right-hand 
columns, the sum sought is found at the meeting of the lines to 
the right of the time, and down from the amount, as follows: 

The interest on |1,000, 1 year, at 6 per cent $60 00 

100, " 

10, " 

1, " 

1,000, 4 months, " 

100, " 

10, " 

1, " 

1,000, 27 days, " 

100, " 

10, " 

1, " 

Whole sum of interest sought ^93 88 

In the same manner, proceed with any other amounts, and if 
for more than one year, multiply the interest for one year by 
the number of years for which the interest is sought; if for 
twenty, thirty, sixty, or any other amount between ten and one 
hundred dollars, multiply the interest on ten dollars, by the 
number of tens in the amount, which gives you the whole sum 
of interest sought; the same rule holds good on hundreds, 
between one hundred and one thousand, and, also, on thousands. 
And, of course, the principle works the same on all of the 
tables, for the different rates of per cent. 

As the legal rate of interest in all States is six or seven per 
cent., we give these two tables only: 



6 00 


60 


06 


20 00 


2 00 


20 


02 


4 50 


45 


05 


00 



ODDS AND ENDS. 



423 



Interest Table, Six Per Cent. 



TIME 


11 


$2 


|3 


$4 


$5 


$6 


$7 


$8 


$9 


110 


$100 


$1000 


1 DA-; 


-. ... 





























2 


17 


2 " 


.... 





























3 


33 


3 " 


.... 




























5 


50 


4 " 


.... 


























7 


67 


5 " 


.... 
























8 


83 


6 " 


.... 























10 


1 00 


7 " 


.... 























12 


1 17 


8 " 


.... 






















13 


1 33 


9 " 


... 




















2 


15 


1 50 


10 " 


.... 

















2 


2 


17 


1 67 


11 " 


.... 

















2 


2 


18 


1 83 


12 " 


.... 















2 


2 


2 


20 


2 00 


13 " 


... 













2 


2 


2 


2 


22 


2 17 


14 " 


.... 













2 


2 


2 


2 


23 


3 33 


15 " 


.... 










2 


2 


2 


2 


3 


25 


2 50 


16 " 


.... 










2 


2 


2 


2 


3 


27 


2 67 


17 " 


.... 










2 


2 


2 


3 


3 


28 


2 83 


18 " 


.... 








2 


2 


2 


2 


3 


3 


30 


3 00 


19 " 


.... 








2 


2 


2 


3 


3 


3 


33 


3 17 


20 " 


.... 








2 


2 


2 


3 


3 


3 


33 


3 33 


21 " 


.... 








2 


2 


2 


3 


3 


4 


35 


3 50 


22 " 


.... 








2 


2 


3 


3 


3 


4 


37 


3 67 


23 " 


.... 






2 


2 


2 


3 


3 


3 


4 


38 


3 83 


24 " 


... 






2 


2 


2 


3 


3 


4 


4 


40 


4 00 


25 •• 


.... 






2 


2 


3 


3 


3 


4 


4 


42 


4 17 


26 '■ 


.... 






2 


2 


3 


3 


3 


4 


4 


43 


4 33 


27 " 


.... 






2 


2 


3 


3 


4 


4 


5 


45 


4 50 


28 " 


.... 






2 


2 


3 


3 


4 


4 


5 


47 


4 67 


29 " 


.... 






2 


2 


3 


3 


4 


4 


5 


48 


4 83 


1 MO 


.... 1 




2 


2 


3 


3 


4 


4 


5 


5 


50 


5 00 


2 " 


.... 1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


9 


10 


1 00 


10 00 


3 " 


.... 2 


3 


5 


6 


8 


9 


11 


12 


14 


15 


1 50 


15 00 


4 " 


.... 2 


4 


6 


8 


10 


12 


14 


16 


18 


20 


2 00 


20 00 


5 " 


.... 3 


5 


8 


10 


13 


15 


18 


20 


23 


25 


2 50 


25 00 


6 ' 


. . 3 


6 


9 


12 


15 


18 


21 


24 


27 


30 


3 00 


30 00 


7 " 


.... 4 


7 


11 


14 


18 


20 


25 


28 


32 


35 


3 50 


35 00 


8 " 


... 4 


8 


12 


16 


20 


24 


28 


82 


36 


40 


4 00 


40 OO 


9 " 


.... 5 


9 


14 


18 


23 


27 


32 


36 


41 


45 


4 50 


45 00 


10 " 


.... 5 


10 


15 


20 


25 


30 


35 


40 


45 


50 


5 00 


50 Ort 


11 " 


.... 6 


11 


17 


22 


28 


33 


39 


44 


50 


54 


5 50 


55 00 


1 TEA 


B... 6 


12 


18 


24 


30 


36 


42 


48 


54 


60 


6 00 


60 00 



424 



ODDS AND ENDS. 



TIME 
1 DAY 
2 

3 
4 
5 
6 

7 

8 

9 
10 
11 
13 
13 
14 
15 
16 
17 
18 
19 
20 
21 
22 
23 
24 
25 
26 
27 
28 
29 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 
10 
11 

1 YEAR. 



$1 $2 
. 



Interest Table, 
$3 $4 $5 



Seven Per 
|6 $7 $8 



2 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

11 

12 

13 

14 



2 
2 
2 

2 

2 

4 

5 

7 

9 

11 

12 

14 

16 

18 

19 

21 



2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

5 

7 

9 

12 

14 

16 

17 

21 

23 

26 

28 



12 
15 
18 
20 
23 
26 
29 
32 
35 



2 

2 

3 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

7 

11 

14 

18 

21 

25 

28 

32 

35 

39 

42 



2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
3 

o 

u 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

8 

12 

16 

20 

25 

29 

33 

37 

41 

45 

49 



Cent. 

|9 $10 





2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

5 

5 

9 

14 

19 

23 

28 

33 

37 

42 

47 

51 

56 



37 

42 
47 
53 
58 
63 



2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

3 

3 

3 

3 

3 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

4 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 
11 
16 
21 
26 29 
32 35 



2 
3 
2 
2 
2 
3 
3 
3 
3 
3 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
5 
5 
5 
5 
5 
6 
6 
12 
18 
23 



41 

47 
53 
58 
64 

70 



$100 
2 
4 
6 
8 
10 
12 
14 
16 
18 
19 
31 
23 
25 
27 
29 
31 
33 
35 
37 
39 
41 
43 
45 
47 
49 
51 
53 
54 
56 
58 
1 17 

1 75 

2 33 

2 92 

3 50 

4 08 

4 67 

5 25 

5 83 

6 42 

7 00 



19 
39 

58 
78 
97 
1 17 
1 36 
1 56 
1 75 

1 94 

2 14 
2 33 
2 58 
2 72 

2 92 

3 11 
3 31 
3 50 
3 69 

3 89 

4 08 
4 28 
4 47 
4 67 

4 86 

5 06 
5 25 
5 44 
5 64 
5 83 

11 67 
17 50 
23 23 
29 17 
35 00 
40 83 
46 67 
52 50 
58 33 
64 17 
70 00 




The Sick-Room — Make it Cheerful. 

— Mrs. St owe. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 



THE SICK ROOM. 



" E find the following^ excellent article in Common Sense in the 
fL Household , 

Xi^ " The sick chamber should be the most quiet and cheerful 
in the house — a sacred isle, past which the waves of domestic toil 
and solicitude glide silently. This is not an easy rule to obey. 
Whoever the invalid may be, whether the mother, father, or the 
sweet youngling of the flock, the foundations of the household seem 
thrown out of course while the sickness lasts. You may have good 
servants and kind friends to aid you, but the hitch in tlie machinery 
is not to be smoothed out by their efforts. The irregularity does 
not annoy you; you do not notice it if the attack be severe or 
dangerous. All other thoughts are swallowed up in the all-absorb- 
ing, ever-present alarm. You count nothing an inconvenience that 
can bring present relief, or possible healing to the beloved one; 
disdain for yourself, rest or ease while the shadow hangs above the 
pillow crushed by the helpless head. But when it passes, when the 
first transport of thankfulness has subsided into an abiding sense of 
-safety, the mind swings back to the accustomed pivot, and your 
eyes seem to be suddenly unbound. You find, with dismay, that 
the children have run wild, and the comfort of the whole family 
has been neglected during your confinement to the post of most 
urgent duty; with disjjleasure, that the servants have, as you con- 
sider, taken advantage of your situation to omit this task, or slur 
over that — in fine, that nothing has been done well, and so many 



426 THE SICK ROOM. 

things left altogether undone, that you are Avorried out of your 
senses — a phase that too often signifies out of your temper. 

"And it is just at this juncture — when you are called to fifty 
points at once, and are on the verge of despair at the conglomera- 
tion worse conglomerated arising before you; fidgeting to pick 
up dropped stitches in the web you were wont to keep so even — 
that the invalid becomes most exacting. ' Unreasonable,' you name 
it to yourself, even though it be John himself who calls upon you 
every third minute for some little office of loving kindness; who 
wants to be amused, and fed, and petted, made generally comfort- 
able, as if he were a six-months-old baby; who never remembers 
that you must be wearied out with watching and anxiety, and that 
everything below-stairs is going to destruction for the Avant of a 
balance-wheel. The better he loves you the more apt is he to fancy 
that nobody but you can do anything for him; the more certain to 
crave something which no one else knows how to prepare. And 
when you have strained muscle and patience a little further to get 
it ready, and with prudent forethought made enough to last for 
several meals, it is more than probable that his fickle taste will 
suggest something entirely different for 'next time.' 'Just for a 
change, you know, dear. One gets so tired of eating the same 
thing so often! ' 

" He might be more considerate — less childish — you think, turn- 
ing away that he may not see your change of countenance. When 
you have taken so much pains to suit him exactly! It is harder yet 
when he refuses to do more than taste the delicacy you hoped would 
tempt him. 

" ' It is very nice, I suppose, my love,' says the poor fellow, with 
the air of a martyr, ' but it does not taste right, somehow. May be 
the children can dispose of i*. If I had a lemon ice, or some wine 
jelly, such as my mother used to make, I am sure I could relisli it. 
I always did detest sick people's diet!' 

" If he is very much shaken as to nerves, he will be likely to say, 
' messes.' 



THE SICK ROOM. 427 

"'I am fairly wild!' said a loving wife and mother and thrifty- 
housekeeper to me one day, when I called to see her. 

"She had just nursed her husband and three children through 
the influenza. All had been down with it at once. That form of 
demoniacal possession is generally conducted on the wholesale 
principle. 

" ' I am fairly wild!' said the worthy creature, with tears in her 
eyes. ' I cannot snatch a minute, from morning until night, to put 
things straight, and yet I am almost tired to death! I was saying 
to myself as you came in, that I wouldn't try any longer; I would 
just sit still until the dirt was piled up to my chin, and then I would 
get upon the table! ' 

" How often I have thought of her speech since, sometimes with 
a smile — more frequently with a sigh. But with all my pity for 
the nurse and housekeepei-, I cannot conceal from myself — I would 
not forget, nor let you forget for a moment — the truth that the 
sick one is the greater sufferer. It is never pleasant to be laid 
upon the shelf. The resting-place — falsely so-called — is hai'd and 
nari'ow and uneven enough, even when the tramp of the outer 
world does not jar the sore and faded frame; when there is no 
apparent need for the sick person to be upon his feet, and for aught 
that others can see, or he can say, he might just as well stay where 
he is for a month or two. But when, the rack of pain having been 
removed, the dulled perceptions of the mind re-awaken to sensitive- 
ness, and there comes to his ear the bugle-call of duty — sharp, 
imperative; — when every idle moment speaks to hira of a slain 
opportunity, and the no longer strong man shakes his fetters with 
piteous cries against fate, do not despise or be impatient with him. 
He is feverish and inconsiderate and capricious, because he is not 
himself. You see only the poor wreck left by the demon as he tore 
his way out of hira at the divine command. Gather it up lovingly 
in your arms and nurse it back to strength and comeliness. The 
sicTc should always be the chief object of thought and care Avith all 
in the household. If need be, let the dirt lie chin-deep everywhere 



428 THE SICK ROOM. 

else, so long as it is kept out of that one room. There be jealous 
in your care that nothing offend sight or smell. 

" There should be no smell in a sick-room. To avoid this, let in 
the air freely and often. Cologne water will not dispel a foul 
odor, and disinfectants are noisome in themselves. Bathe the 
patient as frequently and thoroughly as prudence will allow, and 
change his clothing with the bed-linen, every day. Do not keep 
the medicines where he can see them, nor even let him witness the 
mixing of that which he is to swallow. As soon as his meals are 
over, remove every vestige of them from the room. Even a soiled 
spoon, lying on table or bureau, may offend his fastidious appetite. 
Cover the stand or waiter from which lie eats with a spotless nap 
kin, and serve his food in your daintiest ware. 

" My heart softens almost to tearfulness when I recall the hours, 
days, weeks, I have spent in the chamber of languishing, and the 
ingenuity of tenderness that, from my babyhood, has striven to 
cheat the imprisonment of weariness, and make me forget pain and 
uselessness. The pretty sur])rises daily invented for my entertain- 
ment; the exceeding nicety with which they were set out before 
me; the loving words that nourished my spirits when the body was 
faint unto death,~these are events, not slight incidents, in the book 
of memory. AVhen I cease to be grateful for them, or to learn 
from them how to minister unto others of the like consolation, may 
my heart forget to beat, my right hand lose her cunning. 

" Do not ask your charge what he would like to eat to-day. He 
will, of a surety, sicken with the effort at selection, and say, 
'Nothing.' But watch attentively for the slightest intimatiL>n of a 
desire for any particular delicacy, and if you are assured il cannot 
hurt him, procure it, if you can, without letting him guess At your 
intention. Feed him lightly and often, never bring more into his 
sight than he can safely eat. A big bowl of broth or jelly will 
either tempt him to imprudence, or discourage him. ' Am I to be 
burdened with all that? ' cries the affrighted stomach, and will have 
none of it. While he is very weak feed him with your own hand. 



THE SICK ROOM. 429 

playfully, as you woxild a child, talking cheerily of somethiiio- 
besides his food, and coaxing him into taking the needed nutriment 
as only a wife and mother can, or as nobody but John could beguile 
you to effoi't in the same direction. 

"Study all pleasant and soothing arts to while away the time, 
and keep worry of every kind away from him. A trifle at which 
you can laugh will be a burden to the enfeebled mind and body, 
and he has nothing to do but lie still and roll it over until it swells 
into a mountain. When he can be removed without danger, let 
him have his meals in another room, changing the air of each when 
he is not in it. Every one who has suffered from long sickness 
knows the peculiar loathing attendant upon the idea that all food 
is tainted Avith the atmosphere of the chamber in which it is served, 
and if eaten in bed tastes of the mattrass and pillows. The room 
and all in it may be clean, fresh, and sweet, but fancy cannot be 
dismissed. And it is wiser to humor than to reason with most sick 
fancies. 

" A hired nurse is a useful, often a necessary thing, but while 
you are upon your feet, and mistress of your own house, delegate 
to no one the precious task of catering for the dear sufferer. It is 
an art in itself. I hope a practical knowledge of it will be taught 
iu Women's Medical Colleges, when they are an established ' insti- 
tution' with us." 

Panada. 
Two thick slices of stale bread half an inch in thickness; cut ofi 
the crust, toast them a nice brown, cut them into squares of two 
inches in size, lay them in a bowl, sprinkle a little salt over them, 
and pour on a pint of boiling water. 

Arrow-Root Jelly, 

One cup boiling water, two heaping teaspoonfuls of best Bermuda 
arrow-root, one tea,:,poonf ul lemon-juice, and two teaspoonfuls white 
sugar. Wet the arrow-root in a little cold water, and rub smooth. 
Then stir into the hot water, which should be on the fire and 



430 THE 6ICK ROOM. 

actually boiling at the time, with the sugar already melted into it. 
Stir until clear, boiling steadily all the while, and add the lemon- 
juice. Wet a cup in cold water, and pour in the jelly to fonn. 
Eat cold with sugar and cream, flavored with rosewater. 

Beef Tea. 

Cut all the fat from a pound of fresh beef, then cut the lean meat 
into small dice-like pieces; add one pint of cold water to draw out 
the juices; boil twenty or thirty minutes, skimming it carefully, 
then strain, and salt to taste. 

Another, better for the very sick, or for weak stomachs: Put the 
cut beef, prepared as above, into a wide-mouthed bottle, cork it so 
no water can enter; place it in a kettle of cold water; prop it so 
that it will stand firmly, and boil one hour; then set the kettle 
aside to cool. When cold, you can safely remove the bottle, and 
you have the simple juice or essence of beef. 

Beef Tea, No. 2. 
To one pound of lean beef add one and one-half tumblers of cold 
water; cut the beef in small pieces, cover and let it boil slowly for 
ten minutes, and add a little salt after it is boiled. Excellent. 

Chicken Panada. 
Skin the chicken and cut it up into joints; take all the meat off 
the bones, and cut up into small pieces; put it into a jar with a 
little salt, tie it down, and set it in a saucepan of boiling water. It 
should boil from four to six hours; then pass it through a sieve 
with a little of the broth. It could be made in a hurry in two 
hours, but it is better when longer time is allowed. Do not put 
the wings m the panada. 

Egg Cream. 

Beat a raw egg to a stiff froth; add a tablespoonful of white 

sugar, and half a glass of home-made blackberry or black cherry 

wine; beat well; add half a glass of cream; beat thoroughly and 

use at once. This is a full meal for an invalid, and is especially 



THE SICK ROOM. 431 

good where trouble of throat, mouth or stomach prevents solid 
food being used. 

Soup for an Invalid. 

■Cut in small pieces one pound of beef or mutton, or a part of 
both; boil it gently in two quarts of water; take off the scum, and, 
when reduced to a jiint, strain it. Season with a little salt, and 
take a teacupful at a time. 

Gruel. 

Mi.i: it tablespoonful of corn meal with a little cold water; add a 
eimall pinch of salt, and stir it smoothly into a pint of boiling water, 
and let it boil ; being constantly stirred for six or eight minutes. 
If sugar is desired, put it in with the cold meal and water, but add 
any flavor, as nutmeg or cinnamon, after removing it from the 
stove. Gruel should be very smooth, and should not have the 
faintest suspicion of a scorch about it. Always serve it neatly. 

Egg Gruel. 
Boil eggs from one to three hours until hard enough to grate; 
then boil new milk and thicken with the egg, and add a little salt. 
Excellent in case of nausea. 

Gruel for Infants. 
To make a gruel for infants suffering from marasmus, take one 
pint of goat's milk and the yolks of two eggs boiled sufiiciently 
bard to reduce to an impalpable powder; add a pint of boiling 
water, a little salt or sugar, and administer by a nursing bottle. 

Beef Jelly for Intaltds. 
Three small onions, three small or one and one-half large carrots, 
a few whole cloves and black pepper, one small teaspoonful of 
sugar, one slice of ham, two calf's feet, one and one-half pounds of 
beef. Put in the onions and other ingredients in succession. Place 
the ham on top, then the calf's feet, and lastly the beef; no water; 
put on the side of the range, and let is stand until reduced to a soft 
mass, then add a quart of water and let it boil one hour; strain and 
let stand until coid, then take off the fat. Use by dissolving a 
little in hot water. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

HEALTH ITEMS AND GRANDMOTHER'S 
, MEDICAL RECIPES. 

Receipt foe Cold. 
|NE pound of liverwort put into four quarts of water and boiled 
down to one quart; add, while warm, a quarter pound of ball 
liquorice and a quarter pound of loaf sugar; when cool add a 
half jDint of gin. Dose — half a large wineglass half an hour before 
each meal. 

Cough Mixture. 

Two ounces of gum arable, one ounce of paregoric elixir, two 
ounces of sugar, juice of one lemon; mix with six glasses of hot 
water. One wineglass to be taken morning, noon, and night. 

To Remove Warts. 
A daily application of either of the three following remedibs is 
effective in dispersing warts; Touch the wart with a little nitrate 
of silver (lunar caustic) ; or with nitric acid or aromatic vinegar. 
The lunar caustic pi'oduces a black, and the nitric acid a yellow 
stain, which passes off in a short time; the vinegar scarcely dis- 
colors the skin. Sparks of frictional electi'icity, repeated daily, by- 
applying the warts to the conductor of an electrical machine, have 
been also successfully employed as a cure for these troublesome 
and unsightly excrescences. 

To Prevent Nail Growing into the Toe. 
If the nail of your toe be hard, and apt to grow round, and into 
she corners of your toe, take a piece of broken glass and scrape the 
top very thin; do this whenever you cut your nails, and, by con- 

432 



HEALTH ITEMS. 433 

stant use, it makes the corners fly up and grow flat, so that it is 
impossible they should give you any pain. Do not fail to try this. 

To Prevent the Nightmare. 
To prevent the nightmore, mix together ten grains carbonate of 
soda, three drachms compound tincture of cardamoms, one drachm 
simple syrup, and one ounce peppermint water. ^Repeat for several 
'nights in succession; afterwards use for a few weeks the tonic 
aromatic mixture. Also a little Cayenne in scullcap tea will pre> 
vent an attack. Those who are habitually subject to nightmare 
should not sleep in a room alone, but have some person near them 
to arouse them when attacked with it. A person is most liable to 
nightmare when sleeping on his back; in fact, it rarely occurs iu 
any other posture. Those subject to it should therefore avoid 
sleeping in a bed which is hollow in the center, as this induces the 
sleeper to lie on his back. The bed should be level and not too 
soft, and the pillow moderate in thickness, so that the head is not 
raised too high. 

The Use op a Raw Egg. 
How often we hear women who do their own work say that bj 
the time they have prepared a meal, and it is ready for the table, 
they are too tired to eat! One way to mitigate this evil is to take, 
about half an hour before dinner, a raw egg, beat it until light, put 
in a little sugar, flavor it, and drink it down. It will remove the 
faint, tired-out feeling, and will not spoil your appetite for dinner.. 
Plenty of frpsh air in the kitchen does a good deal to relieve this> 
trouble, and you do not then take your dinner in " at the pores," a?- 
Dickens's old Joey declared he took in the wine. 
How TO Make a Sanb-Bag. 
Get some clean, fine sand, dry it thoroughly in a kettle on the- 
stove. Make a bag about eight inches square of flannel, fill it with 
the dry sand, sewing the opening carefully together, and cover the 
bag with cotton or linen cloth. This will prevent the sand from 
sifting out, and will also enable you to heat the bag quickly by 

28 



434 HEALTH ITEMS. 

placing it in the oven, or even on the top of the stove. After once 
using this no one will ever attempt to warm the feet and hands of 
a sick person with a bottle of hot water or a brick. The sand holds 
the heat a long time, and the bag can be tucked up to the back 
without hurting one. It is a good plan to make two or three of 
these bags, and keep them ready for use. Children with toothache 
can be put to sleep many a time with one. 

WoEM Remedy. 
One of the simplest and best remedies to be given to children, if 
they are troubled with worms, is poplar bark. A well-known phy- 
sician has used this for years with marked success. It can be 
bought at any drug store, and a little paper, costing five cents, will 
often prevent sickness, and possibly save a large doctor's bill. If a 
child looks white around the mouth, with flushed cheeks and bad 
breath, it is safe to infer that he is afflicted with worms. Take a 
little pinch of the bark, about as much as one would naturally take up 
on the point of a penknife, and give it before breakfast; it has a clean, 
bitter taste, and there is no difficulty in getting a child to take it if 
you explain what it is for. A good way to regulate a child's 
stomach and bowels is to give him a little bowl of oatmeal and 
milk every day, for breakfast or dinner; see that it is well salted, 
as salt promotes digestion. The ailments of a child who is in a 
normal condition almost always proceeds from the stomach, and 
much may be done for our children by paying some attention to 
their diet, and so avoid giving medicine as much as po^ible. 

Sleep as a Medicine. 
A physician says that the cry for rest has always been louder 
than the cry for food. Not that it is more important, but it is often 
harder to obtain. The best rest comes from sound sleep. Of two 
men or women otherwise equal, the one who sleeps the better 
will be the more healthy and efficient. Sleep will do much to cure 
irritability of temper, peevishness, and uneasiness. It will restore 
vigor to an over- worked brain. It will build up and make strong a 



HEALTH ITEMS. 43^ 

weak body. It will cure a headache. It will cure a broken spirit. 
It will cure sorrow. Indeed, we might make a long list of nervous* 
and other maladies that sleep will cure. The cure of sleeplessnes*' 
requires a clean, good bed, sufficient exercise to promote weariness 
pleasant occupation, good air, and not too warm a room, a clear 
conscience, an avoidance of stimulants and narcotics. For those 
who are over-worked, haggard, nervous, who pass sleepless nights, 
we commend the adoption of such habits as will secure sleep. 

New' Cure for Wounds. 
As soon as a wound is inflicted, get a little stick — a knife or a 
file-handle will do — and commence to tap lightly on the wound. 
Do not stop for the hurt, but continue until it bleeds freely and 
becomes perfectly numb. When this point is reached you are safe 
— all that is necessary is to protect it from dirt. Do not stop short 
of the bleeding and the numbness, and do not on any account close 
the opening with plaster. Nothing more than a little cerate on ? 
clean cloth is necessary. We have used and seen this used on al? 
kinds of simple punctures for thirty years, and never knew a single 
instance of a wound becoming inflamed or sore after treatment as 
above. Among other cases: A coal -rake tooth going entirely 
through the foot, a bad bite of a sucking pig, several instances of 
file-shanks through the hands, and numberless cases of rusty nails, 
awls, etc., but we never knew a failure of this treatment. 

A Mustard Plaster. 
How many people are there who really know how to make 9 
mustard plaster? Not one in a hundred at the most, perhaps, and 
vet mustard plasters are used in every family, and physicians pre- 
'cribe the application. The ordinary way is to mix the mustard 
with water, tempering it with a little flour. Such a plaster as this 
makes is abominable. Before it has half done its work it begins to 
blister the patient, and leaves him finally with a flayed, painful 
spot, after producing far less effect in a beneficial way than was 
intended. Now, a mustard plaster should never blister at all. If 



436 HEALTH ITEMS. 

a blister is wanted, there are other plasters far better than mustard 
plasters. Then use no water, but mix the mustard with the white 
of an egg, and the result will be a plaster that will " draw " per- 
fectly, but will not produce a blister on the skin of an infant, no 
matter how long it is allowed to remain on the part, 

A Cure for Diphtheria. 
Dr. Chenery, of Boston, has lately discovered that hyposulphite 
of soda is the specific remedy against diphtheria — that so much 
dreaded ailment, which of late years has carried off many valuable 
lives. He reports a very large number of cases (one hundred and 
fifty within his own practice) saved by the use of this remedy. 
The dose of the hyposulphite is from five to fifteen grains or more 
in syrup, every two to four hours, according to age and circum- 
stances. It can do no harm, but if too much is given it will purge; 
as much as the patient can bear without purging is a good rule in 
the severer cases. The solution or mixture can be used in doses of 
five drops to half a drachm in milk. 

Bilious Headache. 
Dissolve and drink two teaspoonfuls of finely-powdered charcoal 
in one-half a tumbler of water. It will relieve in fifteen minutes; 
take a Seidlitz powder one hour afterward. 

A Remedy for Cold Feet. 
Every night on going to bed, dip the feet in shallow, cold water, 
X.WO or three times quickly, then rub briskly with a coarse towel till 
dry; then take hold of eadh end of the towel and draw it back and 
forth through the hollow of the foot until a glow is excited. 

The Opium Habit. 
An eminent New York physician writes to the Sun that the only 
sure cure for the opium habit is in "tapering off," diminishing eaob 
dose by infinitesimal deductions, so that the system may adapt, 
itself to the change. He cured himself in this manner, and ha? 
discovereKl that many of the advertised remedies proceed on the 



HEALTH ITEMS. 437 

aame principle. His habit was to put thii-ty grains of morphine in 
an eight ounce bottle, and take a teaspoonful of the mixture, con- 
taining one grain of morphine, four times a day. In his next bottle 
he put but twenty-nine grains, in the next but twenty-eight, and so 
on. The change was very gradual, and caused no shock to the 
system; and the habit never returned. 

Antidotes for Poison. 

Soda, salt, vinegar, chalk, raw eggs, mustard, sweet oil, soap, and 
milk, are powerful remedies for poisons, and are in every house. 
Send for a doctor, but do not wait for dootor or druggist; go to 
work. If the poison is an alkali, vinegar is a remedy. Freely 
drinking of new milk, continuing to drink even when the stomach 
returns the milk, will destroy even arsenic poisoning. 

If sulphuric or oxalic acid has been taken, swallow a quantity of 
chalk; the whites of raw eggs stirred up and swallowed, taking six, 
eight or more successively as fast as possible, will destroy poisons, 
as corrosive sublimate; mustard, stirred in soft water and freely 
drunk, will cause vomiting and destroy poison. Any kind of oil, 
as olive, linseed or common lard oil, will also destroy poison. 

Phosphorus, as when children suck matches, give a tablespoonful 
of magnesia and then freely gum arable water; less magnesia if 
only a little phosphorus is taken. 

Opium, as laudanum poisoning, needs a strong emetic; a table- 
spoonful of mustard in a glass of warm water, or a half teaspoonful 
of powdered alum in as little water or coffee as will carry it down, 
and repeat the dose. 

Strychnine also demands a very quick emetic, as above, or a heavy 
dose of ipecac. Opium poison needs also friction, fanning, shak- 
ing, cold water on the head, and all efforts to arouse the patient. 

Nitrate of silver needs warm salt water until a free vomit. 

Ammonia taken raw by accident; give new milk, olive oil, in ice 
bits, bind ice on the throat. 

Sugar of lead needs lemon-juice, vinegar, raw tomatoes, and 
finally a good dose of Epsom salts. 



438 HEALTH ITEMS. 

Piusi-iio acid, or fruit-stone poisoning, demands a good emetic, 
end administer freely ammonia and water. 

Antimony is corrected by very strong green tea, and alum water. 

After all these remedies, empty the stomach by a clear, warm- 
irater emetic, and keep the patient in bed on a raw-egg diet for 
thirty hours. 

External Use of Castor Oil. 

The London Medical Journal gives reports from various prac- 
titioners who have found purgative results follow the inunction of 
castor oil. One writer states that he has frequently applied this oil 
to the abdomen, under spongiopiline or other waterproof material, 
in cases where the usual way of administering by tlie mouth seemed 
undesirable, and with the most satisfactory consequences. In a case 
of typhoid fever, also, half an ounce of castor oil was apj^lied in 
this manner, under a hot water fomentation, the effect of this being 
as represented, to relieve the constipation and tympanitic distention 
that had been present, without undue purging or irritation of the 
bowels. 

Treatment of the Supposed Drowned. 

Dr. Benjamin Howard, in a lecture delivered before the British 
Medical Association on the "Direct Method of Artificial Respira- 
tion for the Treatment of the Supposed Drowned," gives some very 
useful hints for this emergency. Dr. Howard, finding that the 
directions recommended by the Royal Humane Society worked 
unsatisfactorily, were in many respects difficult for other than 
medical men to follow out and required the co-opei"ation of at least 
two persons, investigated the whole question of the treatment of 
the apparently di'OAvned, and sets forth his objections to the whole 
system, and his arguments in favor of that proposed by himself. 
His rules are short and simple, being as follows: Instantly turn 
the patient downwards with a large roll of clothing under stomach 
and chest. Place one of his arms under his forehead so as to keep 
his mouth off the ground. Press with all your weight two or 
three times, for four or five seconds each time, upon the patient's 



HEALTH ITEMS. 439 

back, so that the water is j^ressed out of lungs and stomach, and 
drains freely out of the mouth. Then quickly turn patient's face 
upwards, with roll of clothing under back, just below the shoulder 
blades, and make the head hang back just as low as possible. 
Place patient's hands above his head, kneel with patient's hips 
between your knees, and fix your elbows firmly against your hips. 
Now — grasping lower part of patient's naked chest — squeeze his 
two sides together, pressing gradually forward with all your weight 
for about three seconds, until your mouth is nearly over mouth of 
patient; then, with a push, suddenly jerk yourself back. Rest 
about three seconds; then begin again, repeating these bellows- 
blowing movements with perfect regularity, so that foul air may 
be pressed out and pure air be drawn into the lungs about eight or 
ten times a minute, for at least one hour, or until the patient 
breathes naturally. These directions must be used on the spot, the 
first instant the patient is taken from the water. A moment's delay, 
and success may be hopeless. Prevent crowding around the patient; 
plenty of fresh air is important. Be careful not to interrupt the 
first short natural breaths. If they be long apart, carefully con- 
tinue between them the bellows-blowing movements as before. 
After breathing is regular, let patient be rubbed dry, wrapped in 
warm blankets, take hot spirits and water in small occasional doses 
and then be left to rest and sleep. 

Cure fob Burns. 
The following cure was successfully tried by a lady upon one of 
her own children, who was severely burned by a little companion: 
She wrapped it up completely with cotton wool or wadding, so that 
not a breath of air could touch the body, and night and day kept it 
saturated with vinegar, which caused the pain to cease immediately. 
She persevered until the fresh young skin had formed a sufficient 
covering of its own underneath. Her husband, who did not enter 
quite so readily into her system, lifted a little of the wadding from 
the cheek one day when she was out, and was charmed to see the 



440 HEALTH ITEMS. 

new skin growing so well; but the spot on the cheek was the only- 
scar the child had when quite recovered. A quill leading to the 
mouth served for it to breathe and be fed by. 

Grandmother's Salve for Everything. 

Two pounds of rosin and half a cup of mutton tallow after it is 
hard, half as much beeswax, and half an ounce of camphor gum; 
put all together into an old kettle, and let it dissolve and just come 
to a boil, stirring with a stick ; then take half a pail of warm water, 
just the chill off, pour it in and stir carefully until you can get your 
hands around it. Two persons must each take half and pull like 
candy until quite white and brittle; put a little grease on your 
hands to prevent sticking, and keep them wet all the time. Wet 
the table, roll out the salve, and cut it with a knife. Keep it in a 
cool place. 

Cholera RemedYo 

Mix in a small bottle equal parts of tincture of opium (lauda- 
num), rhubarb, capsicum, camphor, spirits of nitre, and essence of 
peppermint, double strength. Shake well, and cork tight. Doser 
From five to thirty drops every fifteen minutes. Dose for children' 
From two to ten drops. 

Fig Paste for Constipation. 

One-half pound of good figs chopped fine, one-half pint of 
molasses, two ounces powdered senna leaves, one drachm finely-pow- 
dered coriander seed, one drachm finely-powdered cardamom seed. 
Put the molasses on the stove and let it come to a boil, then stir in 
all the rest and bring to a boil again. A teaspoonful once in a 
while is a dose. It will keep, when covered, for a year. 

Cure for Chilblains. 
Place red hot coals in a vessel, and throw upon them a handful 
of corn meal; hold the feet in the dense smoke, renewing the coals 
and the meal, till the pain is relieved. This has been known to 
make very marked cures when all other remedies had failed. 



HEALTH ITEMS. 441 

For Canker Sore Mouth. 
Burn a corn cob and apply the ashes two or three times a day. 

Cube for Corns. 
The strongest acetic acid, applied night and morning, will cure 
hard and soft corns in a week. 

Ring Worm, 
Put a penny into a tablespoonful of vinegar; let it remain until 
it becomes green, and wash the ring worm with this two or three 
times a day. 

Cure For Rheumatism and Bilious Headache. 
Finest Turkey rhubarb, half an ounce; carbonate of magnesia, one 
ounce; mix intimately; keep well corked in glass bottle. Dose: 
One teaspoonful, in milk and sugar, the first thing in the morning; 
repeat till cured. Tried with success. 

For Felon. 
As soon as the pulsation which indJcates the disease is felt, put 
directly over the spot a fly blister about the size of your thumb 
nail, and let it remain for six hours, at the expiration of which 
time, directly under the surface of the blister, may be seen the 
felon, which can be instantly taken out with the point of a needle 
or a lancet. 

For Felon, No. 2. 

Take common rock salt, as used for salting down pork or beef, 
dry in an oven, then pound it fine and mix with spirits of turi)en- 
tine in equal parts; put it in a rag and wrap it around the parts 
affected; as it gets dry put on more, and in twenty-four hours you 
are cured. The felon will be dead. 

Toothache. 

At a meeting of the London Medical Society Dr. Blake, a distin- 
guished physician, said that he was able to cure the most desperate 



442 HEALTH ITEMS. 

case of toothache, unless the disease was connected with rheuma- 
tism, by the application of the following remedy: Alum reduced to 
an impalpable powder, two drachms; nitrous spirits of ether, seven 
drachms; mix and apply to the tooth. Tried with success. 

Cure eor Neuralgia. 

A friend who suffered horrible pains from neuralgia, hearing of a 
noted physician in Germany who invariably' cured the disease, went 
to him, and was permanently cured after a short sojourn. The 
doctor gave him the remedy, which was nothing but a poultice and 
tea made from our common field thistle. The leaves are macerated 
and used as a poultice on the parts affected, while a small quantity 
of the same is boiled down to the proportion of a quart to a pint, 
and a small wineglass of the decoction drank before each meal. 
Our friend says he has never known it to fail of giving relief, while 
in almost every case it has effected a cure. God gave herbs for the 
healing of the nations. 

Tincture of Iodine on Corns. 

Dr. Bajis states that corns may be rapidly cured by the applica- 
tion of the tincture of iodine; the corn disappearing in the course 
of a few days, if touched with the tincture several times a day. If 
the corn be situated between the toes, it should be covered with a 
piece of linen steeped in a mixture of the tincture and glycerine. 

Smallpox Remedy. 

The following remedy a friend tried in Ohio in a case of con- 
fluent smallpox, when the doctor had little hope of saving the 
patient, and it saved the 'woman's life. The remedy is sure in 
scarlet fever. " I herewith append a recipe which has been used 
to my own knowledge in a hundred cases. It will prevent or cure 
the smallpox, even though the pittings are filling. When Jenner 
discovered cow pox in England, the world of science hurled an 
avalanche of fame upon his head, and when the most scientific 
school of medicine in the world (that of Paris) published this pan- 



HEALTH ITEMS. 443 

acea for the smallpox, it passed unheeded. It is as unfailing as fate, 
and conquers in every instance. It is harmless when taken by a 
well person. It will also cure scarlet fever. Take sulphate of zinc, 
one grain; fox glove {digitalis) one grain; half a teaspoonful of 
water. When thoroughly mixed, add four ounces of water. Take 
a spoonful every hour, and either disease will disappear in twelve 
hours. For a child, smaller doses, according to age." 

For Hydrophobia. 
Franklin Dyer, a highly respectable farmer of Galena, Kent 
County, Md., gives the following as a sure cure for the bite of a 
mad dog. He has tested it with most gratifying results: Elecam- 
pane is a plant well known and found in many gardens. Imme- 
diately after being bitten, take one and a half ounces of the root of 
the plant, the green root is preferable. The dried, to be found in 
drug stores, will answer; bruise it, put it in a pint of fresh milk, 
boiled down to half a pint, strain, and when cold drink it, fasting 
at least six hours afterwards. The next morning repeat the dose, 
fasting, using two ounces of the root. On the third morning, take 
another dose prepared as the last, and this will be sufficient. After 
each dose, nothing to be eaten for at least six hours. I had a son 
who was bitten by a mad dog eighteen years ago, and four other 
children in the neighborhood were also bitten. They took the 
above, and are now alive and well. I have known many who were 
cured. It is supposed that the root contains a principle, which, 
being taken up by the blood in its circulation, counteracts or neu- 
tralizes the deadly effect of the virus of hydrophobia. I feel so 
much confidence in this simple remedy that I am willing you shouM 
give my name in connection with this statement. 

Flaxnels for Fomttittation. 
Fold the flannel the size to fit over the top of a pot of boiling 
water, and cover with a lid; in a few minutes it will be hotter than 
if wrung out of boiling water and yet dry at the corners; roll it up 
covered, and convey quickly to the patient. 



444 HEALTH ITEMS. 

Foe Hoarseness. 
Squeeze the juice of half a lemon in a pint bowl, add loaf sugar 
(two tablespoonfuls), one teaspoonful of glycerine, and one table- 
spoonful of whiskey; pour over this boiling hot water to nearly 
fill the bowl, and drink hot just before going to bed. 

Foe Soee Throat. 
Cut slices of salt pork or fat bacon; simmer a few moments in 
hot vinegar, and apply to throat as hot as possible. When this is 
taken off, as the throat is relieved, put around a bandage of soft 
flannel. A gargle of equal parts of borax and alum, dissolved in 
water, is also excellent. To be used frequently. 

Healing Lotion. 

One ounce glycerine, one ounce rose-water, ten drops carbolic 
acid. This preparation prevents and cures chapping of the skin, 
and at the same time bleaches it. It is also excellent for sore lips 
and gums. 

To Prevent Contagion feom Eeuptive Diseases. 

Keep constantly, in plates or saucers, sliced raw onions in the 
sick room, if possible. As fast as they become discolored, replace 
by fresh ones. During any epidemic of skin diseases that are 
eruptive, onions, except those taken fresh from the earth, are 
unsafe, as they are i^eculiarly sensitive to disease. 

Foe Toothache. 
Of powdered alum and fine salt, equal quantities; apply to the 
tooth and it will give speedy relief. 

Foe Headache. 
Pour a few di'ops of ether on one-half ounce of gum camphor 
and pulverize; add to this an equal quantity of carbonate of ammo- 
nia pulverized; add twenty droj^s peppermint; mix and put in an 
open-mouthed bottle and cork. 



HEALTH ITEMS. 445 

To Stop Bleeding. 
A handful of flour bound on the cut. 

To Restore from Stroke op Lightning. 

Shower with cold water for two hours; if the patient does not 
show signs of life, put salt in the water, and continue to shower an 
iour longer. 

Salve for Chilblains. 

Fry out nicely a little mutton tallow; into this while melted, and 
after it is nicely strained, put an equal quantity of coal oil; stir 
well together while it is cooling. 

To Remove Discoloration from Bruises. 
Apply a cloth wrung out in very hot water, and renew fre- 
quently until the pain ceases. Or, apply raw beefsteak. 

Cure for Wasp Sting. 
Apply a poultice of saleratus water and flour, and bind on the 
sting. Apply slices of raw onion for a bee sting. 

Cure for Summer Complaint. 
Two ounces tincture rhubarb, one of paregoric, one-half of 
essence of peppermint, one-half of essence of anise, one half of 
prepared chalk. Dose for adult, one teaspoonful in a little water; 
take as often as needed. 

The Best Deodorizer. 
Use bromo-chloralum in the proportion of one tablespoonful to 
eight of soft water; dip cloths in this solution and hang in the 
rooms; it will purify sick rooms of any foul smells. The surface 
of anything may be purified by washing well and then rubbing 
over with a weakened solution of bromo-chloralum. A weak solu- 
tion is excellent to rinse the mouth with often, when from any 
cause the breath is offensive. It is also an excellent wash for sores 
and wounds that have an offensive odor. 



CHAPTER XXXVI L 



CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN, 

SleePo 
^ N infant in sound health will sleep almost continually during 
3!^\^ the first four or five weeks of its life. All that is necessary 
in the interval is to guard against accidents likely to create 
disturbancCo Of these injurious incidents, deficiency of warmth, 
want of ^cleanliness, and over-fatigue, are the most liable to occury 
converting the happiest period of development into a restless state 
/)i being, alike pernicious to parent and child. 

As though to indicate the necessity for this lengthy repose, the 
sense of hearing in a new-born babe is very dull. Ordinary con- 
versation does not disturb an infant's slumbers, although loud, 
sudden noises may have that effect. In most instances, a babe does 
not appear to be conscious of sounds until about the fifth or sixth 
week of its existence. In the meantime the necessary disturbances 
are confined to being suckled, washed, and changed; for which 
duties occasion should be taken during the short wakeful intervals 
which happen when hunger prevails. 

So valuable is the repose which sleep affords throughout the 
whole period of early childhood, that too much pains cannot be 
taken to cultivate the habit from the earliest moment; for, be it 
<)bserved, sleep is essentially a habit of our nature, and its recur- 
rence depends chiefly on regularity of living and good health. At 
appointed times, and certain places, infants should be encouraged 
to submit to sleep. Let them understand that, after food and 
exercise, it is time to go to bed; and a lesson will have been learned 

446 



CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 



447 



wbich will require no undue force to put into practice during the 
term of nursery life. 

Infants born in the winter and during the cold months of spring, 
require to sleep at the mother's side for the first few weeks; accord- 
ing to one authority, " for the first few months, as it requires the 




warmth of another person's body, especially in winter," But t'ua 
strength of the child, as well as the weather, must carry thei^ due 
weight in determining the length of the time. Doctors differ on 
this point. At all events, it should lie alone when sufticiently sti'^ng 



448 CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 

to bear it; when sleeping with the mother it should not, on that 
account, be the oftener suckled; the mischief of the latter habit 
does not end with the over-taxed digestion of the child. Few 
mothers are able to stand the drain thus made upon their strength, 
and in consequence, " nursing " has to be given up much sooner 
than would otherwise be necessary. 

The natural time for slumber, in very early life, is immediately 
after taking food. As the young of almost all creatures show this 
disposition, there can be no harm in following the dictate. Oppor- 
tunity, then, should be taken to lay the child in its bed, whether 
awake or not, after having been fed. A little later in life, when 
digestion is stronger, and the stomach is better able to dispose of a 
heavy meal, an interval is necessary between taking nourishment 
and going to sleep. 

The utmost vigilance is generally necessary to prevent the habit 
of sleeping in the nurse's arms from being contracted. Most nurses 
enjoy a doze in front of the fire — a luxury well earned by, perchance, 
a broken night's rest; but with infants no such necessity is felt. 
Still, if they are once allowed to feel the soothing influence of the 
fire's warmth, combined with the soft and pleasant mechanical 
movement of the nurse's knees, they speedily get rebellious against 
attempts to make them lie alone in the crib. In engaging a nurse, 
it is advisable to have it clearly understood that the babe is not to 
be nursed on the lap when asleep. 

The best-trained child, however, will not return peacefully to its 
cot if the bedding is not perfectly dry and comfortable. After the 
child has been lifted out, " changed," and fed, the pillow and mat- 
tress should be well shaken and, if necessary, wet blankets replaced 
by dry ones. Having put the infant back, the light should be par- 
tially screened or extinguished. These arrangements require to be 
made in a very methodical manner, and will have to be repeated a 
few times to be fully understood by the child. If, at the outset, a 
cry of resistance should be heard when it is time to go back to bed, 
a wise mother will conceal herself from sight, and turn a deaf ear 



CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 449 

Sooner or later this hreaking-in will have to take place, and the 
longer it is delayed, the greater will be the trouble. 

About the age of three months, an infant does not usually require 
night-feeding more frequently than when the mother retires to rest, 
and again toward five or six in the morning. At this age the 
faculty of observation begins generally to show itself, and affords a 
golden opportunity to convey right impi-essions to the plastic infant 
mind. The first objects of which a child takes notice are those 
which are employed in supplying its personal wants. Thus the sight 
of a nursing-bottle wi?l generally set a child to crying for food. In 
like manner it is a good plan to appropriate certain coverings to 
the use of an infant when " sleeping-time " is in question. The 
writer has known a gaily-colored knitted rug to set the tiny inmates 
of a nursery yawning from the mere associations which the familiar 
wrapper suggested. Each infant in turn had been enveloped in 
that rug preparatorj'- to going to sleep, and they had not a thought 
of resisting its influence. 

The habit of taking a mid-day nap may be advantageously 
observed till the age of three or four years has been attained. 
Even if the child be not sleepy it is advisable to let it lie in its cot 
for a certain time after having taken exercise, and before dinner. 
If any inducement is necessary, there is no reason why a few toys 
or a picture-book should not be allowed in bed. Pretending to 
hush a doll to sleep, for instance, will often send the child itself to 
sleep, and is as good a ruse as can be adoj^ted. 

Before putting the inmates of a nursery to bed, the room should 
be darkened, and the nurse should betake herself, if possible, to an 
adjoining room for any occupation she may have to fulfill. 

Care is needed not to arouse a child too suddenly from its 
slumbers. Allow it, on all occasions to waken of its own accord. 

A notion is prevalent that much sleeping by day lessens the 
power of sleeping by night; but this is an error. As a general rule 
the more a child sleeps the more it wants to sleep. Wakefulness 
is generally caused by over-fatigue and excitement, and is a posi' 



450 CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 

lively painful state to the sensitive organism of a young child. 
This description of suffering admits of no alleviation but from 
sleep; reprimands and additional food only inci'ease the sufferer's 
torment. 

It ought not to be necessary to point out the danger of giving 
narcotics to young children. But so long as such remedies as 
"teething powders," etc., are recommended, we must not be sup- 
posed to ignore the fact that the true nature of such drugs is, not 
to facilitate the process of cutting teeth, but to lull restless infants 
into an unnatural sleep. Long before any disturbance of a child's 
health is likely to occur from teething, these compounds are apt to be 
administered simply to secure a quite night's rest. The restlessness 
complained of arises, nine times out of ten, from flatulence and 
indigestion. A fit of sleeplessness may, in very many instances, be 
terminated by wrapping the infant in a warm covering, and exer- 
cising it in an apartment of lower temperature than the nursery. 

In more advanced childhood than we have hitherto spoken of, 
the importance of sleep is undiminished, and should be observed 
with regularity. No invariable rule can be laid down for general 
observance, but most children between the ages of four and seven 
years require, at least, twelve hours' sleep. Ten hours are supposed 
to be needful for school boys, and eight for adults. Few childrer* 
under ten years of age can be kept out of their beds after ten 
o'clock without injury to their health. When once awake in the 
morning, they should be accustomed to rise at once. 

Most parents go to their childrens' rooms before retiring. The 
chief object in these visits is to see whether the little ones be sufli- 
ciently covered, and that no draughts be felt from open windows 
and doors. 

In the winter, a few hours after being put in bed, most young 
children require a little additional covering, owing to the body 
having lost some of its warmth during sleep. Another precaution 
to be taken is, that the children's heads be suflicientl}^ raised to 
prevent their breathing the air emitted from their lungs. This 



CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 451 

habit, if not necessarily fatal, is certainly liable to lay the seeds of 
a consumptive state, and to produce an impaired constitution, A 
single small pillow is generally sufficient. One blanket should 
always be placed with the selvage ends across the bed, in order to 
allow ])lenty of room to turn in under the mattress. Children 
generally sleep more comfortably, and suffer less from cold feet, 
if their bedding be slightly raised at the foot. 

Exercise. 

During the first few weeks of life, the disposition to sleep indi- 
cates the necessity for avoiding anything like excitement to prema- 
ture activity. With limbs and muscles undeveloped, and mental 
powers unformed, the only exertion to which a very young child 
should be subjected is that which is occasioned by being washed 
and dressed. Gentle chafing of the limbs before a fire may be 
practiced morning and evening with benefit and pleasure to the 
babe. Not until an infant voluntarily seeks movement, or the 
dawning intelligence evinces pleasure in passing objects should any 
attempt be made to disturb the order of things established by 
nature. This change may generally be observed about the third 
month. In the meantime, the more tranquil an infant can be kept, 
both in mind and in body, the greater ai'e the chances of unchecked 
development at the proper period. 

The practice of too many nurses is at variance with these simple 
rules. Uninformed, generally, respecting the structure of the 
human frame, they are apt to apply principles of exercise totally 
unfitted to the tender organism of infancy. Hence the objection' 
able habit of jog-trotting on the knee, together with the pernicious 
practice of inducing the babe to sujjport its head before the spine 
is strong enough to bear the weight. The period when it is safe to 
encourage an infant to sit upright is at the age of seven months. 
Previously to that time the body should be held only in a semi- 
erect posture, either by resting across the nurse's shoulder, or by 
placing the distended palm of her hand against the child's chest. 
It is more necessary to observe these precautions against spinal 



452 CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 

weakness in time, because children who may have been injurionslj 
managed at the outset become restless when it is attempted to keep 
them in a reclining posture. 

An exercise very congenial to the inclination of a baby consists- 
in spreading cushions upon the floor for it, upon which to spread 
itself. If no cushion be at hand, a clean cot mattress will answer 
equally well. All little ones revel in freedom from the restrained 
posture of the nurse's arms. The above exercise is the first step 
toward learning to creep — the most healthful and natural mode of 
progression in babyhood. Some over-anxious j^arents check this 
habit, lest it should bring the infant into danger. Harm, however, 
seldom results, provided common precautions be taken. Another 
prejudice sometimes entertained against creeping is that, if a child 
finds how easy it is to get along on the hands and knees, it will not 
try to walk. Here, again, the fears are unfounded. All children 
are anxious to get upon their feet as soon as they feel themselves 
strong enough to do so; but many children do not walk before they 
are from twelve to fourteen months old. In the meanwhile creep- 
ing brings every limb into play in manner proportionate to an 
infant's strength. The best dress for the creeping age is the one in 
which little French children are usually attired — a sort of Knicker- 
bocker suit, warm and loose, with trousers and vest all of one piece. 

The stage at which infants begin to walk demands the exercise of 
a considerable amount of self-control on the part of the parents,, 
inasmuch as falls are inevitable. These appear to a looker-on to be 
of a more serious nature than they really ai*e. Provided a child 
does not fall from a greater elevation than his own height, injury 
very seldom occurs from these tumbles. The most dangerous falls 
are those from spring mattresses and seats. The suddenness of the 
jerk prevents a child from saving itself by the exercise of the 
momentary instinct which is usually displayed in other cases of 
impending danger. Left to themselves, little folks generally fall 
neatly, and manage to keep their heads uppermost. The cry which 
is heard after these accidents arises from surprise and mortification.. 




Put the Children to Bed Happy, and They Will Rise 
Cheerful in the Morning. 

— Franklin. 



CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 453 

and the trouble is best treated as a joke. If, instead of catching 
the child iip in her ai-ms and smothering it with caresses, accompa- 
nied with expressions of sympathy, the nurse said, in a cheerful 
voice, "Jump up, and see where you sat last," the child's mind 
would be diverted, and braced to fresh exertions. 

As soon as the child is able to leave the house, it should pass as 
much of the time as possible in the open air. Even sleeping out of 
-doors does no harm provided proper clothing be w^orn. Warm 
<3lothing for the chest, arms, legs, feet, and loins is essential. The 
head should be kept cool, and the face covered with a light gauze 
material only. As a general rule, the head-gear of an infant should 
admit of the free passage of the air inhaled and exhaled both by 
day and by night. 

Perambulators, under careful guidance, are a real boon to both 
jiurse and child. If the babe be healthy, and the weather suitable, 
there is no reason why infants should not, almost from the com- 
mencement, take daily exercise in a perambulator. Children from 
the age of a year old thrive better when exercised in the open air 
in a perambulator than when carried in the nurse's arms. Less 
fatigue in carrying ensures less risk from nurse sitting down to 
rest. It is seldom that cold is taken when passing briskly through 
the air; standing still in draughty places is always most carefully 
to be guarded against. Two little ones can be exercised in a double 
.perambulator at an age when two nurses would be required to 
afford separate exercise to each child. 

When the exercise of walking ceases to be a pleasurable excite^ 
ment, some inducement is needful to get little folks along. The 
daily walk consequently becomes a trial of patience to nurse and 
child. The best way to obviate this difficulty is to make the walk 
a secondary object, and some attendant amusement the ostensible 
one, such as playing at horses, etc. 

Muscular exercise, adapted to more advanced childliood, has 
received an important accessory in the form of gymnastic appa- 
ratus, of great variety and simplicity. They are made for diffei<*<!nt 



454 CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 

classes of strength, and are designed to bring every muscle into 
play. There are also very many valuable courses of exercise for 
which no apparatus of any kind is necessary. 

Food. 

The most suitable food for infants is that of Nature's own pro- 
viding — mother's milk. In very exceptional instances is this supply 
short-coming during the first few weeks after child-birth. If, 
unhappily, the contrary should be the case, a delicate infant can 
seldom be successfully reared without the aid of a wet-nurse. The 
only circumstances which should prevent a mother from suckling 
her offspring are a too excitable temperament, or a consumptive 
state of constitution. Ordinary debility, consequent or recent con- 
finement, is rarely an impediment to the fulfillment of one of the 
highest instincts of human nature, and one no less productive of 
moral than of physical benefits. During the time a child receives 
nourishment at its mother's breast the earliest bond of sympathy, 
destined to influence a lifetime of parent and child, is naturally 
formed. 

Whatever changes it may be found necessary to make in the 
dietary of an infant after the age of six weeks, absolute necessity 
alone should induce the substitution of artificial in lieu of natural 
food. The first milk is of a purgative nature, and is admirably 
adapted to cleanse the system of a new-born babe. In this par- 
ticular, the most desirable wet-nurse might fail to prove a fitting 
deputy for the mother. Likewise, throughout the period of nursing, 
it is a point of great importance that the quality of the nourish- 
ment should be proportionate to the age of an infant. If the ser- 
vices of a wet-nurse are inevitable, it should be sought to engage 
one who has been a mother about the same length of time as the 
parent of the infant to be brought up. In selecting a wet-nurse a 
medical man is the proper medium. 

During the first two or three weeks, an infant, if awake, may be 
suckled at intervals of from one to two hours. The sooner, how- 
ever, the babe can be brought into the habit of being fed once ia 



CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 455 

two hours the greater will be the benefit derived from the nourish- 
ment, and the more speedily will the mother be enabled to regain 
her own strength. A determination to attain regularity in feeding 
is all that is needed. When this plan is steadily pursued, the 
digestion of a child will work with the precision of the clock by 
which its meals are regulated. All cries should not be supposed to 
arise from craving for food. Numberless cases of irritation may 
occasion a fretful cry — cold feet, pi-essure of clothing, wet linen, or 
other discomforts. Instead, therefore, of giving food instantly, it 
is advisable to open the clothes, warm the tiny feet, chafe the 
limbs, OX', if possible, take the infant for a little walk out of doors. 
If, after having tried similar remedies, the fretfulness continues, 
the cause should be sought in the condition of the child's stools. 
If signs of griping pains, or colic, be evident, less food should be 
given, and the intervals between his meals lengthened. 

Sometimes a cry of continual distress prevails, from the mother's 
milk being not sufficiently nourishing to satisfy the appetite of the 
babe. In such cases it is advisable to give, every night and morn- 
ing, a meal of cow's milk and water, prepared in the following 
manner: Fresh milk and warm water, of each, one-quarter of a 
pint; sugar of milk, one teaspoonful. The latter should first be 
dissolved in the warm water, then the milk, unboiled, mixed with 
it. Sweetening with sugar of milk, instead of lump sugar, makes a 
greater resemblance to the mother's milk. Possibly the infant may 
take biit half the above quantity; we only give the recipe to show 
the right proportions. An older child might require all at a meal. 

The practice of giving thickened food to infants at too tender an 
age is a source of endless ti-ouble. Dr. Edward Smith remarks that 
the feeding of young infants on bread, biscuits, flour, and other 
substances than milk, " is a constant source of derangement of the 
liver, and a frequent cause of fits." As a general rule a baby 
ought to be entirely nourished on milk until the first tooth appears. 

"Up to six or seven months of age infants have not the power 
of digesting farinaceous or fibrinous substances." After that age 



456 CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 

many descriptions of farinaceous food may be used, and are to be 
strongly recommended. Beef tea, veal, chicken, or mutton broth 
are apt to turn acid and cause flatulence or sickness, and should 
not be given without medical advice. Care should be observed in 
every change of infants' diet, especially if teething be in operation. 

A very necessary treatment after a meal consists in lifting the 
babe across the nurse's left shoulder, whether awake or asleep, and 
gently patting the infant's back until the wind displaced by the 
food is thrown off the stomach. Whei'ever this precaution is used 
gripes and windy colic are seldom heard of. 

The period of weaning is one of great anxiety. Make the change 
gradually. A little self -restraint in keeping out of sight when the 
child may naturally be supposed to be hungry, is the greatest act 
of kindness to the little one. The most favorable time for weaning 
is in warm weather, when the infant can be amused and kejst much 
out of doors. 

The utmost cleanliness should be observed in every detail con- 
nected with the keeping of all utensils for nursery use. When 
removed from the bottle, the India-rubber top should be immedi- 
ately placed in a glass of clean water, and the bottle cleansed of 
every trace of food, and twice a day rinsed out with tea-leaves and 
water. When not in use the bottle should be hidden from the 
infant's sight. 

Rice Jelly, 

One-half cup whole rice, well washed and soaked two hours in a 
little warm water; then added, with the water, to that in the kettle 
three pints cold water, one small pinch of salt, j^ut into the water. 
Sweeten to taste Avith loaf sugar. Simmer the rice half an hour; 
then boil until it is a smooth paste, and the water is reduced one- 
half. Strain through double tarlatan, sweeten, and give to the 
child. This is an admirable preparation for an infant suffering 
with weakness of the bowels. If there be no fever, you may put 
one-third part milk, boiled with the rice. Give a few spoonfuls 
every hour or half hour. 



CARE AND CULTURE OF ClllJ.DKEN. 457 

Arrowroot. 

One cup of boiling water, one cup of fresh milk, two teaspoonfula 

best Bermuda arrowi'oot, wet with cold water, one small pinch of 

salt, two even teaspoonfuls white sugar, dissolved in the milk. 

Stir the arrowroot paste into the salted boiling water; stir and boii 

five minutes or until it is clear; add the sweetened milk, and boiJ 

* . . . 

ten minutes, slowly, still stirring. If the child has fever, or cannot 

digest milk, substitute hot water for it. It is, however, a dangeroua 

experiment to forbid milk altogether for an infant. It would be 

better to diminish the quantity, putting in, say, one-third or on»*- 

fourth as much as the receipt names, and filling up with boilinsf 

water. 

Milk axd Bread. 

One-half cup boiled milk, two tablespoonfuls stale Graham bread, 
a very little sugar. Crumble the bread into the boiled milk- 
sweeten, and when cool enough, feed to the child with a spoon. 

' "Wheatex Grits. 
Four tablespoonfuls grits (cracked wheat) soaked in a little cold 
water one hour, and then put into the kettle; one quart boiling 
water, one cup milk, a pinch of salt. Boil the soaked grits in the 
quart of water one hour, stirring up often; add the milk and boil 
half an hour longer. Sweeten to taste, and if the child is well, 
pour cream over it. This is designed for children over a year old. 
It is slightly cathartic; especially if the milk be omitted, and is 
most useful in regulating the bowels. When this can be done 
without drugs, it is far better. 

HoMixY AND Milk. 
One-half cup small hominy, one scant quart of cold Avater, pinch 
of salt. Boil one hour, stirring often. While hot, mix some soft 
with new milk, sweeten to taste and feed to the baby with a spoon. 
This is also relaxing to the bowels, and should not be given if the 
child is disposed to summer comjjlaint. 



458 CAKE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 

Graham Hasty Pudding. 
One cup Graham flour, wet up with cold water; one large cup 
boiling water and same quantity of milk; one saltspoonful salt. 
Stir the wet flour into the boiling water, slightly salted. Boil ten 
minutes, stirring almost constantly; add the milk, and cook, after 
it has come again to a boil, ten minutes longer. Give with sugar 
nd milk for breakfast. 

Eaten with cream, nutmeg, and powdered sugar, this is a good 
' ain dessert for grown people as well as children. 

Rice Flour Hasty Pudding 

IS made as above, substituting two heaping tablespoonfuls rice 
flour for the Graham. 

Milk Porridge. 
One tablespoonful Indian meal, one cup of white flour, wet to a 
paste with cold water; two cups boiling water, two cups milk, a 
good pinch of salt. Boil the paste in hot water twenty minutes; 
add the milk, and cook ten minutes more, stirring often. Eat with 
sugar and milk, stirred in while hot. 

Mush an^d Milk. 
One cup Indian meal, wet up with cold water; two quarts cold 
water; salt to taste. Boil two hours; stirring often with a wooden 
spoon or a stick. To be eaten hot with milk and sugar. 

Condensed Milk. 
This is perhaps the safest substitute for the " good milk from one 
cow," which few mothers in town can procure. Keep the can in a 
cool place and mix according to directions. 

Moral Influence — Obedience. 
In the preceding pages we have described the mode of manage- 
ment best adapted to the bodily wants of young children, but it is 
also necessary to suggest means for the healthy culture for the 
mental and moral faculties of childhood. For, though the growth 



CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 459 

of the mind may not make visible progress in the same proportion 
as is seen in the tiny frame, the same steady development toward 
maturity is, nevertheless, taking place continually, resulting in a 
healthy or unsound condition of mind, according to the amount of 
culture bestowed. For this culture, the long period of helplessness 
which characterizes babyhood is especially favorable. A mother, 
as the being nearest and dearest to the almost unconscious infant, 
should act not only as the appointed guardian of its bodily welfare, 
but should also extend her care and effoi-t to the development and 
culture of its mind. By its parent's smile or frown an infant reads, 
as from a book, signs of approval or rebuke of every act com- 
mitted. Instinctively, little children turn toward their mothers on 
all occasions of doubt, and, unhesitatingly, they guide their course 
by the mute expression they observe on her face. 

This golden opportunity of maintaining a natural influence is too 
valuable to be lightly regarded, or carelessly risked. Fi-ora the 
commencement, therefore, it is desirable that a mother should seize 
every occasion of turning it to good account. In all her actions 
toward her babe, she should ever bear in mind that example is the 
most impressive mode of teaching, and tha*: if she constantly does 
what is right in the presence of her child, a true principle of con- 
duct is imparted without any need of verbal explanation. 

It is commonly believed that no harm can come of letting a child 
have its own way, so long as it is a mere babe. But this is a serious 
delusion. As soon as a child is of an age to express its wants, 
whether by one means or another, it is old enought to be brouglit 
into habits of obedience. Obedience is the first lesson to be taught, 
and very sensible are all well-managed babes of its meaning. No 
harsh words, no impatient gestures, need be added to enforce the 
rule, which consists simply in not doing what the babe demands, if 
it is not the right time and the proper place for the desired gratifi- 
cation. 

Take food as an example. If children were left to themselves 
they would be eating and drinking perpetually of whatever came in 



460 CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 

their way, till the stomach could no longer retain the imj^i'^jx^r 
substances. Wholesome food would be rejected for more palatable 
sweets and dainties. Before long, depraved tastes would be con- 
:firmed. Much the same misfortune sometimes befalls over-fed 
children of the wealthy, notwithstanding the care bestowed in other 
resj^ects on their nurture; and an impaired constitution is thft 
result. Food, then, becomes alike a means of bodily nourishment 
and of discipline of the mind. The quality of the food, and the 
hour at which it is taken, are m"*te' . for the pa.rent to decide to 
the best of her judgment. Ha'-inp^ clon^ so, any fretful impatience 
on the part of the child sbould W ur\eeded. If. in a fit of passion, 
the usual meal should bt; refused, no attempt at persuasion should 
be wasted, but, after a reasonable time for recovery from any dis- 
appointment experienced, the objectionabb repast should be put 
aside, and the child's attention turned to something else. Hungel 
is an eloquent pleader, and if the refusal has merely sprung from 
disappointment at not having something else, signs of a craving 
appetite will soon appear. Then it win be time to re-offer the 
original nourishment, which, in all probability, will be greedily 
consumed. If, upon observation, it i^ found that the repetition of 
the same kind of food is repulsive, <,ho reason should be sought in 
the health of the child, or in the mode of preparing the meal. 
With respect to the time of feeding:^ irregularity should be guarded 
against by not giving children scraps to eat between meals; neithei 
should they be exposed to the sight of tempting food at unsuitable 
times. 

Another early opportunity of implanting a spirit of obedience 
will be found in the impulsive habit which little children have of 
seizing whatever they desire to possess. This habit requires great 
firmness in checking, and a determination on the parent's part to risk 
a flood of tears rather than to let the coveted article remain in the 
child's possession. Added to the danger which results to little 
children from letting the habit of snatching have sway, the destruc- 
tion of property is liable to be very great. Consequently, a mother 



CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 461 

should be on the watch to convey a notion that certain prohihited 
articles are hurtful. By shaking her head, looking gravely, and 
saying slowly, " No, no," at such times, a child will soon learn that 
something is wrong. If the child ceases in its attempts it will have 
understood the meaning of a very important word. If, however, 
the intelligence is not sufficiently strong, the object should be 
removed out of sight, the mother firmly reiterating the refusal, and 
looking the child in the face while she does so. By repeating this 
process a very few times, the meaning will become plain, and you 
will see that the child understands it. Should the child, however, 
repeat the attempt, the prohibition should bo repeated, and the 
consequences of the child's taking the responsibility should be suf- 
fered to appear. Touching fire, candles, heated irons, kettles of 
hot watei', and innumerable articles of a similar nature, can hardly 
be prevented in a nursery; therefore, if, after a fair understanding 
of the prohibition, a child persists in the attempt, a slight burn, or 
bruise, or scald, may prove a merciful suffenng. On such occasions 
sympathy at the infant's pain should be tempered with reproof, 
making him understand that when he was told not to do the deed, 
you knew it would hurt him. By the above and various other 
simple means, obedience receives practical and easy illustration,, 
even in infancy. 

With children of more advanced age, the force of reasoning 
should be employed to render acts of obedience less painful to 
perform. Those who have charge of the young should bear in 
mind that they are dealing with beings liable to be impelled by 
impetuous passions into acts of danger, of which, from want of 
experience, they do not realize the extent. Adults, having passed 
through the ordeal of youth, know the punishment which an 
uncurbed spirit is apt to bring on its possessor. They have bought 
their experience dearly, perchance, from having no guiding hand 
to direct their course. The result of this experience should be to 
caution young people against preventable danger. In all warnings 
— especially where schoolboys are concerned — the truth should be 



462 CARE AND CULTURE OF CHILDREN. 

plainly spoken, right and wrong made unmistakably clear, and for- 
giveness freely giA^en, whenever, from waywardness or indiscretion, 
the youthful wanderer has diverged from the right. Children 
that from their cradles have been accustomed to look upon their 
parents as their truest and most indulgent guides, are seldom want- 
ing in confidence toward them, when, through disobedience, they 
l:ave unhappily become entrammelled in difficulties. 



CONTENTS. 



I. Bread-Making. 



Page 



Bread 7 

Yeast that will not sour 8 

A good reliable yeast 9 

Another good yeast 9 

Good home-made bread 9 

Yeast bread 10 

P.itato bread (2) 11 

Milk-sponge bread 11 

Salt-rising bread (2) 12 

Com bread 12 

Corn bread (3) 13 

Grandmother's Indian bread 13 

Quick Graham bread 13 

Baking-powder Graham bread 13 

Brown bread of Graham flour 14 

Graham bread (2) 14 

Brown bread 14 

Brown bread 15 

Boston brown bread 15 

Rye bread 15 

Rye and Indian Bread 16 

Rye bread with baking-powder 16 

Hoyleton bread 16 

Norwegian bread for dyspeptics 16 

Oatmeal bread 17 

Rice bread 17 

n. Breakfast and Tea Cakes. 

Light biscuit 18 

Butter biscuit 18 

Soda biscuit 18 

Dixie biscuit 18 

Baking-powder biscuit 19 

Cream of tartar biscuit 19 

English biscuit 19 

Graham biscuit 19 

Cold biscuit 20 

Buns (3) 20 

Cinnamon cake 20 

Graham cakes 21 

Rye drop cakes 21 

Corn cakes 21 

Johnny cake 21 

Newport breakfast cakes 21 

Potato cakes 21 

Griddle Cakes. 

Stale bread griddle cakes 22 

Com meal griddle cakes 22 

Rice griddle cakes 22 

Flour griddle cakes 22 

Green corn griddle cakes 22 

Hominy griddle cakes 22 



^ , Page 

Crumb corn cakes 22 

Flannel cakes 23 

Buckwheat cakes g3 

Graham griddle cakes 23 

Squash, pumpkin, and apple griddle 

cakes 23 

Berry griddle cakes 23 

Egg cracknels 24 

Oatmeal crackers 24 

Graham crackers 24 

Crumpets 25 

London crumpets 25 

Kentucky corn dodgers 25 

Fritters. 

Green corn fritters (2) 26 

Apple fritters 26 

Celery fritters 26 

Oyster fritters 26 

Clam fritters 27 

Lobster fritters 27 

Rice fritters 27 

Blackberry fritters 27 

Gems. 

Graham gems (3) 28 

Cold water gems 28 

Mixed gems 28 

Oatmeal gems 28 

Muffins. 

Muffins (3) 29 

Rice flour muffins 29 

Rice muffins 29 

Graham muffins (2) 30 

Corn meal muffins 30 

Mush. 

Commeal mush 30 

Oatmeal mush 30 

Cracked wheat mush 30 

Cracked wheat mush 31 

Fried mush for breakfast 31 

Hominy 31 

Piiffs. 

Puffs ' 31 

Graham puffs (2) - 31 

Oatmeal puffs 32 

Potato puffs 32 

Cream puffs 32 

Puffets 32 

Proverbs • • • « 

Pocket books — • «* 



463 



464 



CONTENTS. 



Rolls. Page 

How to make rolls (2) 33 

Cinnamon rolls 33 

Parker House rolls 33 

White Mountain rolls 34 

Oatmeal rolls 34 

Vienna twist rolls 34 

Italian rolls 35 

Graham breakfast rolls 35 

French rolls 35 

Tremont House rolls 35 

Rosettes 36 

Rusks. 

Sweet rusks (2) 36 

Rusks 36 

Baking-powder rusks 37 

Scones 37 

Scotch scones 37 

Sally lunn 37 

Sally lunn 38 

Plain short cake 38 

Scotch short cake 38 

Sandwiches. 

Ham sandwiches 38 

Egg sandwiches 39 

Sardine sandwiches 39 

School lunch sandwiches 39 

Oyster sandwiches 39 

Tongue or ham sandwiches 39 

Toast. 

Cream toast 40 

Breakfast toast 40 

Cheese and egg toast 40 

Ham toast 40 

Spanish toast , 41 

Fried bread 41 

Waffles. 

Waffles (4) 41 

Bread waffles 42 

Rice waffles 42 

Graham wafers — 42 

6weet wafers 42 

in. Cake. 

Almond cake (2) 43 

Adelaide cake 43 

Apple cake. . 44 

Angel's food 44 

Andalusia sponge cake 44 

Black fruit cake 44 

Bride cake (2) 45 

Bread cake 45 

Black cake 46 

Bridgeport cake 46 

Butternut cake 46 

Boston cream cake 46 

Cocoanut cake 46 

Cocoanut cake 47 

Chocolate cake 47 

Com starch cake (2) 47 

Coffee cake 48 

Chocolate eclaires 48 

Charlotte caches. • 48 

Cider cake 48 



Page 

Cake without eggs 49 

Cream puffs 49 

Citron cake 49 

Cream cake 49 

Chocolate cake 49 

Christmas cake 50 

Cinnamon cake 50 

Cinnamon cake 51 

Cup cake 51 

Cocoanut pound cake 51 

Clove cake 51 

Delicate cake 51 

Delicious cake 52 

Drop cake 52 

Dough cake 52 

Dover cake 52 

Dundee cake 52 

Dried apple cake 53 

Election cake 53 

Every-day fruit cake 53 

Eggless cake 53 

English Christmas cake 53 

Fruit cake from dough 54 

Fruit cake (2) 54 

Fruit jelly cake 54 

Favorite lemon jelly cak« 55 

Fig cake (2) 55 

French loaf cake • 55 

Feather cake 55 

Feather cake 56 

Gold cake 56 

Gentleman's cake 56 

Ginger drop cake 56 

Ginger-bread loaf 56 

Ginger-bread 57 

Soft ginger-bread (2) 57 

Ginger cup cake 57 

Groom's cake 57 

Graham cup cake 58 

Hickory -nut cake 58 

Hickory-nut drop cake 58 

Huckleberry cake 58 

Honey cake 58 

Imperial cake 59 

Ice cream cake ■ 59 

Jelly cake 59 

Jelly rolls 59 

Kaff ee Kuchen 59 

Knickerbocker cake ■ 60 

Lemon cake (2) 60 

Lemon jelly cake 60 

Lady cake 61 

Lunch cake 61 

Light cake 61 

Loaf cake 61 

Marbled c^ke 61 

Mountain cake 62 

Madeira cake » 62 

Molasses cake (2) 62 

Marbled chocolate cak«. 63 

Moreton ^'arm cake 63 

Nut cake 63 

Nut cake 64 

White nut cake 64 

Neapolitan cake 64 

Lady fingers 64 

Orange cake (2) 65 

Perfection cake 65 

Pork cake 66 

Portuguese cake 66 

Puffcaka... 66 



CONTENTS. 



465 



Pagb 

Pine-apple cake 66 

Pound cake without soda 67 

Cocoanut pound cake 67 

Pound cake. 67 

Plum cake 67 

Quincy cake 67 

Queen cake 68 

Railroad cake 68 

Reception cake 68 

Rice cake 68 

Rochester jelly cake 68 

Silver cake 69 

Snow cake 69 

Swiss cake 69 

Sponge cake, Delicious 69 

Sponge cake with hot water 70 

Sponge cake 70 

Sponge cake, White 70 

Sultana cake 70 

Spice cake 71 

Seed cake 71 

Tunbridge cake 71 

Taylor cake 71 

Wedding cake 71 

Wedding cake 73 

Vainlla cake 74 

W^ashington cake 74 

Wine cake 75 

Webster cake 75 

Watermelon cake 75 

White cake 75 

Yule cake 75 

Crullers (3) 76 

Cookies, Jumbles, and Snaps. 

Almond cookies 76 

Almond cookies 77 

Cocoanut cookies 77 

Cookies (3) 77 

Cream cookies 77 

Cookies (2) 78 

Eggless cookies 78 

Ginger cookies 78 

Graham cookies 78 

Molasses cookies 78 

Sugar cookies 79 

Hickory-nut cookies 79 

Sand tarts 79 

Jumbles (2) 79 

Ginger snaps (2) 79 

Ginger snaps 80 

Doughnuts 80 

Doughnuts without egg 80 

Doughnuts raised 80 

Cream doughnuts 80 

Fried cakes 81 

Snow balls, white 81 

rv. Creams and Custards. 

Apple snow 82 

Apple float 82 

Almond cream 82 

Bavaroise 82 

Blanc mange 83 

Cream a la mode 83 

Coffee cream 83 

Bavarian cream 83 

Chocolate Bavarian cream 84 

Caledonia cream.- 84 



Page 

Charlotte Russe elegante 84 

Charlotte Russe (2) 84 

Fruit Charlotte 85 

Genoese cream 85 

Italian cream 85 

Manioca cream 86 

Russe cream 86 

Rock cream 86 

Spanish cream 86 

Tapioca cream 86 

Whipped cream 87 

Whipped cream sauce 87 

Almond custard 87 

Apple custard 87 

Boiled custai d 87 

Baked custa.d 88 

Chocolate custard 88 

Coffee custard 88 

Corn starch custard 88 

Cocoanut custard 88 

Cold cup custard 89 

Caramel custard 89 

Lemon custard . . 89 

Moonshine 89 

Floating island (2) 90 

Irish moss 9ft 

Quaking custard Sfy 

Orange snow 9l 

V. Confectionery. 

General directions 94 

Almond candy 93 

Almond creams 92 

Bon Bons 92 

Butter Scotch 93 

Boston caramels 93 

Cream cocoanut candy 93 

Cocoanut candy 93 

Cocoanut caramels 93 

Chocolate caramels 9-3^ 

Chocolate cream drops 94 

Chocolate kisses 94 

Fruit candy 94 

Hickory-nut candy 94 

Horehound candy 94 

Lemon cream candy 95 

Lemon and peppermint drops 95 

Molasses candy 96 

White molasses candy 96 

Peanut candy 9S 

Pop corn balls 97 

Taffy 97 

Efferton taffy 97 

Vinegar candy (2) 98 

Walnut candy 98 

Meringues 98 

Cream meringues 99 

Macaroons 99^ 

Bachelor buttons 99- 

Corn starch rateffes 99' 



VI. CATStJPS. 

Currant catsup 100 

Cucumber catsup 101 

Gooseberry catsup 101 

Plum catsup 101 

Tomato catsup 101 

Tomato catsup lOHt- 

Mushroom catsup (See " Mushrooms.") 



466 



CONTENTS. 



Vn. Desserts, Page 

Puddings 103 

To young housekeepers 105 

Arrowroot pudding 106 

Almond pudding 106 

Pie-plant Charlotte 106 

Croquettes of rice 107 

Bombes au riz 107 

Green corn pudding 108 

Cottage pudding 108 

Cranberry roll 108 

Delmonico pudding 108 

Eve's pudding 109 

Fig pudding 109 

Fruit pudding 109 

Baked farina pudding 109 

Plain fruit pudding 109 

Florentine pudding 110 

Gelatine pudding 110 

Ginger pudding 110 

Honeycomb pudding 110 

Huckleberry pudding Ill 

Hen's nest Ill 

Indian pudding Ill 

Apple pudding Ill 

Apple batter pudding Ill 

Apple float 113 

Apple slump 112 

Baked apple dumpUngs 112 

Apple surprised 112 

Amber pudding 113 

Ambrosia 113 

Apple omelette 113 

Apple Charlotte 113 

Bancroft pudding 114 

Bread pudding 114 

Banana and apple tart 114 

Bird's nest pudding (2) 114 

Cabinet pudding 115 

Cream batter pudding 115 

Cracker pudding 115 

Chocolate pudding 115 

Charlotte pudding 115 

Cottage pudding 116 

Custard bread pudding 116 

Cocoanut pudding 116 

Cream pudding 116 

Crumb pudding 117 

Irish rock 117 

Jelly rice 117 

Jelly custard 118 

Jelly tartlets 118 

Kiss pudding 118 

Lemon pudding 118 

Lemon trifle 118 

Lemon pudding 119 

Meringue rice pudding 119 

Malagan pudding 119 

Mitchell pudding 119 

Maud's pudding 119 

Orange pudding 120 

Christmas plum pudding 120 

Plum pudding 120 

English plum pudding 121 

Plum pudding 121 

Rich plum pudding 121 

Baked plum pudding 122 

Poor man's pudding 122 

Raisin puffs 122 

Roly poly pudding 122 



Paob 

Rice pudding 133 

Sago pudding 123 

Suet pudding 123 

Steamed pudding 123 

Snow pudding 123 

Steamed pudding 124 

Strawberry short-cake (2) 124 

Tapioca pudding (2) 125 

To 3ook rice 125 

Vegetable pudding 125 

Whipped syllabubs 125 

Yankee pudding 126 

Pudding Sauces. 

Sweet sauce 126 

Fruit sauce 126 

Fruit pudding sauce 126 

Arrowroot sauce 127 

German custard sauce 127 

Pudding Sauce 127 

Pies. 

Puff paste 127 

Pie crust 128 

Good and cheap pie crust 128 

Pie crust glaze 129 

Pie crust for four small pies 129 

Tart crust 129 

Icing pastry 129 

Puff paste with beef suet 130 

Apricot pie 130 

Apple pie 130 

Apple custard pie 130 

Boiled cider pie 130 

Banana pie 130 

Cracker pie 131 

Chocolate pie 131 

Cocoanut pie 131 

Jelly custard 131 

Custard pie 131 

Cream pie (2) 133 

Custard for cream pie 132 

Delicate pie 132 

Lemon pie 132 

Fruit pie 132 

Lemon pie 133 

Mince meat (2) 133 

Mince pie 133 

Mince pie 134 

Mince meat without meat 134 

Marlborough pie 134 

Orange pie 135 

Cream peach pie 135 

Pine-apple pie 135 

Pumpkm pie 135 

Potato pie 136 

Sweet potato pie (2) 136 

Apple or peach meringue pie 137 

Peach pie 137 

Quince pie 137 

Cream raspberry pie 137 

Raisin pie 138 

Rhubarb pie 138 

Rice pie 138 

Squash pie 138 

Vinegar pie 138 

Tarts 139 



CONTENTS. 



467 



vm. Drinks. Page 

Coffee 140 

Coffee substitutes i-t-^ 

Novel mode of making coffee 143 

Tea 144 

Iced tea 145 

A good summer drink 145 

Cottage beer 145 

Ginger beer 145 

Spruce beer 14C 

Iced buttermilk 146 

Claret cup 14t> 

Fruit cup 14*> 

Cream of tartar drink 147 

Jelly drinks 147 

Simon-pure lemonade 147 

Jelly lemonade 147 

Ginger lemonade 148 

Berry sherbet 14S 

Excellent mead 14^ 

IX. Eggs and Omelettes. 

Remarks 140 

Breaded eggs 150 

Egg a la mode 150 

How to bake eggs 150 

Egg baskets 150 

To pickle eggs 151 

Scrambled eggs — 151 

To poach eggs 151 

Stuffed eggs 15'-i 

Omelette (2) 1?5 

Apple omelette l->' 

Oyster omelette 153 

Omelette souffle 1};^ 

French omelette 153 

Omelette with ham 154 

Eggs a la bonne femme 154 

X. Fresh Fruits. 

Pine-apples 155 

A nice way to prepare apples 15o 

To stew apples 155 

Bananas and cream 155 

To crystallize fruit 155 

To keep grapes 15o 

Melons 15° 

Oranges 1™ 

Candied cherries 15?. 

Stewed pears 15' 

Glace cherries 157 

Candied lemon-peel 1-" 

XI. Canning Frcit. 

General directions 159 

Table for canning fruit Iw 

Apple sauce IJ^O 

Canning pine-apple J™' 

Canning pine-apple IJ;} 

Canning berries ijj} 

Canning pears 1*' J 

Canning peaches it;i 

Dried peaches • — i*"* 

xn. Ices anp Ice-Creams» 

Remarks — 1^'] 

Berry cream ijl* 

Buml i^'xiifr *.o»-o"<»ajn 1" 



Pagb 

Chocolate ice-cream 164 

Coffee ice-cream 164 

Lemon ice-cream 164 

Peach ice-cream 165 

Pine-apple ice-cream 165 

Orange ice-cream 165 

Strawberry and raspberry ice-cream. . . 165 

Vanilla ice-cream 165 

Cocoanut ice-cream 165 

Frozen tapioca custard 166 

Frozen rice custard 166 

Frozen sago custard 166 

Water-ices 166 

Cherry water-ice and nut cream 166 

Strawberry water-ice 167 

Raspberry water-ice 167 

Burnt almond ice-cream and orange ice. 167 

Biscuit glaces 168 

Rateffe biscuit cream 168 

Tutti frutti 168 

Gelatine paste for ornamenting ices. . 169 

Pine-apple sherbet 169 

To color ice creams or water-ices 169 

xni. Icings. 

Remarks 1^1 

Almond icing 171 

Boiled icing (2) 171 

Chocolate icing (2) 171 

Chocolate icing Ii^ 

Clear icing for cake 172 

Icing for cakes 172 

Tutti frutti frosting l;i^2 

Lemon frosting 172 

Ornamental icing 1;;,* 

Yellow icing 1 ^3 

Rose coloring 1 ' 3 

XTV. Jams and Jellies. 

Remarks 174 

Apricot jam 1;|.5 

Marmalades and jams 1;;^5 

Apple jams ._ 1^5 

Berry or currant ]am i • o 

Grape, gooseberry, or plum jam 176 

Apple marmalade 176 

Orange marmalade 176 

Pine-apple marmalade 177 

Peach marmalade 177 

Quince marmalade 177 

Plum marmalade 178 

Pumpkin marmalade 1 ' 8 

Apple jelly.... 1^^ 

Blackberry Ijelly Ji^ 

Cranberry jelly 1^^ 

Crab-apple jelly ^^^ 

Currant jelly J'^ 

Currant nelly ]^ 

Grape jelly ]^ 

Peach jelly }^} 

Pie-plant jelly ■ ■ ]%} 

Quince jelly (2) 181 

Coffee jelly. 1^^ 

Lemon snow jelly ^^ 

Lemon jelly ig 

Orange jelly i|? 

Wine jelly ]^l 

Mouldiness ^ 



468 



CONTENTS. 



XV. Mushrooms. Page 

Remarks 184 

Mushrooms au gratin '.'....'.'. 184 

Mushrooms a la provincale 185 

Mushrooms a la ere me 185 

Mushrooms, baked 185 

Mushrooms, breakfast [ 185 

Mushrooms, curried [ 186 

Mushrooms en caisse 186 

Mushroom catsup .' 186 

Mushrooms en ragout .' 187 

Mushrooms with bacon 187 

Mushroom stems 187 

Mushrooms, to stew ...'.'. 188 

Mushrooms, to pot .'..'. i88 

Mushrooms and toast (3) ! . 388 

Mushrooms, to pickle (2) 189 

XVI. Pickles. 

Remarks • . . . . 190 

Pickled artichokes .* .' 191 

Pickled butternuts and walnuts ... .....' 191 

Pickled beans . . , 192 

Pickled beets '.'.'.' 192 

Pickled broccoli ....'.' 192 

Bottled pickles ,'.., 192 

Mary's pickled blackberries 193 

To put up cucumbers in briae . 193 

Pickled cabbage (2) I94 

Pickled cauliflower (2) .[[[ I94 

Pickled cucumbers '.'.'.'.'. 194 

Chow-chow (2) [\][ 195 

Pickled cherries .' .' ' ' 195 

French pickles .!..'.'.' 196 

Pickled grapes (2) ,[ 196 

To harden pickles 196 

Lemon pickles 196 

Mangoes of melons [ 197 

Imitation pickled mangoes 197 

Pickled nasturtiums I97 

Pickled onions (2) ' " . 197 

Pickles [[ 198 

Stuffed peppers '....'. 198 

Mixed pickles (2) ] " 193 

India pickles .'.',',[.[ 199 

Pyperpickles ......,', 199 

Ragan pickles .'.'" 199 

Sweet pickles ...'.'.'.'. 199 

Sweet apple pickles 200 

Sweet tomato pickles '.'..'.'. 200 

Green tomato pickles ." ' 200 

Picalilli , '[' 20J 

Picklette '.'.'......... 201 

Spiced vinegar for pickle.'^ generally ! . . . 201 

Pickled peaches 201 

Pickled peaches that wiU keep ...... 202 

To pickle plums 202 

Green tomato soy '.'..'.'.'. 202 

To keep >x3matoes whol« !!!!.!."! 203 

Pickled tomatoes .'.,, 203 

XVII. Ppeserves. 

Apple y reserves (2). • 204 

Apricot preserves !'.!!!."! 204 

Citron preserves .'.*".' 204 

Currant preserves !!!!!!! 205 

Citron preserves 205 

Lemon preserves _[[[ 205 

Era'viiec'i berries ir cherries ...... 205 



Preserved oranges ao6 

Preserved pine-apple .[ 2O6 

Preserved plums or cherries. 206 

Preserved purple plums 207 

Preserved pears ' 207 

Preserved peaches 207 

Brandy peaches '.'.'.'.'.'. 207 

Quince preserves ...'.'.'.'. 208 

Preserving strawberries 208 

Green tomato preserves .' 209 

Ripe tomato preserves ...'. 209 

Spiced currants ...'........'. 209 

Spiced gooseberries '..'.'.'..'.'.'. 209 

Spiced grapes 210 

Spiced nutmeg melons 210 

Spiced peaches [[[[ 210 

Spiced plums '.'.'..'..... 210 

Spiced plums 211 

XVIII. Vegetables. 

Remarks 212 

Potatoes, how to cook '.'.'.'.'. 216 

Artichokes, fried '. 216 

Asparagus, boiled ...' 216 

Asparagus, fricass6ed 217 

Egg broccoli 217 

Beets and potatoes .'..'. 217 

Beans, Lima 2I8 

Beans, string \ gig 

Brussels sprouts '....'. 218 

Carrots, stewed 2I8 

Celery 219 

Celeiy, fried 219 

Celery, stewed .'..'.'.'. 219 

Cabbage, cream 219 

Cabbage k la cauliflower 219 

Cabbage, boiled 219 

Cabbage, baked 220 

Hot slaw 220 

Cauliflower 220 

Cauliflower ft, la Francaise 221 

Cauliflower with stuffing 221 

Cauliflower with sauce 221 

Corn, for winter use. 221 

Corn, baked 222 

Com, green on the cob 222 

Corn oysters 222 

Corn, stewed 222 

Cucumbers, stewed 222 

Celery 233 

Celery, fried 233 

Carrots 223 

Carrots, boiled 223 

Dandelion 224 

Endive, stewed 224 

Egg plant (2) 224 

Egg plant, fricassfied 224 

Egg plant, stuffed 225 

Garlic 225 

Greens, stewed 225 

Horse-radish as garnish 226 

Lettuce 226 

Lettuce, stuffed 226 

Macaroni 226 

Macaroni as a vegetable 226 

Macaroni with oysters 227 

Macaroni with tomatoes 227 

Macaroni, stewed 227 

Onions, boiled 228 

Onions, ormaloo 228 



CONTENTS. 



469 



Page 

Onions, scalloped 228 

Okra, boiled 228 

Vegetable oysters 228 

Mock stewed oysters 229 

Parsley 229 

Parsley, crisp 229 

Parsley, fried 229 

Parsnips 229 

Parsnips, fried 230 

Parsnip stew 230 

Pease, canned 230 

Pease, French way of cooking 230 

Pease, green 231 

Potato balls 231 

Potato balls, English 231 

Potatoes, browned 231 

Potatoes, southern baked 233 

Potatoes, cream 232 

Potato croquettes 232 

Potato cake 232 

Potatoes, fried (2) 2:33 

Potatoes, mashed 233 

Potatoes, surprised 234 

Potato puff 2:34 

Potato pie 234 

Potato, purge of 2;W 

Potato loaves 234 

Potatoes, Saratoga 2;35 

Potatoes, Lyonnaise 235 

Potatoes, old 235 

Potatoes, tossed g;35 

Potatoes, sweet 236 

Potatoes, sweet, baked 236 

A farmer's dainty dish 236 

Rice as a vegetable 236 

Succotash 237 

Spinach 237 

Spinach, cream of 237 

Squash, winter 237 

Squash, stuffed 237 

Turnips 238 

Turnips, mashed 268 

Tomatoes d, la creme 238 

Tomatoes, browned 238 

Tomatoes, baked 238 

Tomatoes, baked 239 

Tomatoes, broiled 239 

Tomatoes, fried 239 

Tomatoes, scalloped 2;W 

Tomatoes, stuffed 239 

French butter for frying vegetables 240 

Eules for cooking vegetables 240 

XIX. Fish. 

Remarks S42 

Fish, baked 244 

Fish, to boU 344 

Fish, boiled »44 

Fish, baked black 244 

Trout, brook 244 

Flounders 845 

Halibut 345 

Perch, eels, and small pike 245 

Eels, potted 245 

Eels, collared 246 

Sturgeon 246 

Cod'a head 246 

Codfish, fresh 248 

Codfish, salt 248 

Codfish balls 348 



Page 

Mackerel, salt 248 

Cod, baked 249 

Pike, boiled 249 

Turbot 250 

Whitefish, to fry 250 

Salmon 250 

XX. Shell Fish. 

Clams 251 

Clam bake 251 

Clam chowder 251 

Clam fritters 252 

Clams, fried 252 

Clam pie 252 

Clam stew 252 

Clam soup 253 

Crabs 253 

Crabs, soft 253 

Crabs, scalloped 254 

Frogs 254 

Lobster croquettes 254 

Lobster cutlet 254 

Lobsters, fried 255 

Lobster patties 255 

Lobster rissoles 255 

Lobster salad 255 

Lobster, broiled 256 

Lobsters en brochette 256 

Lobsters, roasted 256 

Lobsters, gratin of 256 

Oysters, broiled 256 

Oyster chowder 257 

Oyster croquettes 257 

Oysters, fricasseed 257 

Oysters, fried 257 

Oysters, fried 2.58 

Oyster and chicken pie 258 

Oysters, BcaDoped 858 

Oyster stew. Park Row 258 

Oysters, Maryland stewed 259 

Oysters, plain stew 259 

Oyster Bauce 259 

Oyster pie 259 

Oysters, pickled 260 

Oyster patties 860 

Oyster pot-pie 860 

Oysters, roasted 860 

Oysters, fancy roast 860 

Oysters a la Poulette 261 

Oysters, raw 861 

Oysters with toast 861 

Oyster flavor 261 

Oysters, new way of preparing 261 

Scallops 862 

Terrapins, or water turtles 862 

XXI. Game. 

Game, to select 864 

Birds, to pot 865 

Birds, reed 265 

Birds, reed, k la Lindenthorpe 265 

Prairie chickens, roast 866 

Prairie chicken 266 

Partridges, pheasants, and quails, to 

roast 266 

Quail on toast 266 

Quail, or woodcock, to broU 267 

Pigeon pie 267 

Pigeon, roast (2) 267 

Pigeon compote 267 



470 



CONTENTS. 



Page 

Duck, wild aeS 

Goose, wild 268 

Hare, roast 269 

Hare, a nice way to prepare cold 269 

Rabbit, roast 269 

Rabbit, with herbs 269 

Venison chops 269 

Venison, epicurean 270 

Venison patties 270 

XXIT. Makketing. 

Remarks— beef 271 

Sections of bullock 272 

Sections of sheep and lamb 273 

Mutton 273 

Pork 274 

Veal 274 

Veal, section of 275 

Turkeys 275 

Fowls 275 

Geese 276 

Ducks 276 

XXIII. Meats. 

Beef, aitchbone of, to carve 277 

Steak, to make tough tender 277 

Beef, brisket of, to carve 278 

Steak, broUed(2) 278 

Steak, rump, with oyster sauce 278 

Steak, to fry 279 

Steak, German way of frying 279 

Steak smothered with onions 279 

Steak pie 279 

Beef, ribs of, to carve 280 

Beef, ribs of, to roast 280 

Beef, sirloin of, to roast 280 

Beef, sirloin of, to carve 281 

Beef balls 281 

Beef, fillet of 281 

Beef, a good and cheap way to cook . . . 282 

Beef a. la mode 282 

Beef pounded 2&3 

Beef croquettes 283 

Beef, deviled 2a3 

Beef sausages 283 

Beef au gratin 284 

Beef heart 284 

Beef, dried, in cream 284 

Beef omelette 284 

Beef tongue, broiled 284 

Beef, to Doil 2a5 

Beef tongue, roasted 285 

Tripe ... 285 

Tripe a. la Lyonnaise with tomatoes 285 

Bullock's heart, roasted 286 

Calf's heart, roasted 286 

Calf's heart, fried 286 

Sheep's heart, baked 287 

Sweetbreads 287 

Sweetbreads, fried 287 

Sweetbreads, baked 287 

Sweetbreads, broiled 288 

Sweetbreads and cauliflower 288 

Sweetbreads, tomato 288 

Kidneys, broiled or roasted 289 

Kidneys, stewed 289 

Liver, fried 289 

Liver, fried 290 

Lamb, roast quarter of. 290 

Lamb chops, fried 290 



Page 

Lamb chops, broiled 291 

Lamb, stewed with green pease 201 

Lamb cutlets 291 

Mutton, boiled breast of 291 

Mutton, haunch of, k la venison 291 

Mutton, breast of, with pease 292 

Mutton, curried 292 

Mutton chops 292 

Mutton cutlets a, la minute 293 

Mutton cutlet and purge of potatoes 293 

Mutton, boiled leg of 293 

Mutton kebobed 294 

Mutton, leg of, to carve 294 

Mutton, leg of, roast 295 

Mutton cutlets with Provencale sauce . . 295 

Pork, to keep fresh in summer 296 

Pork, to cook 296 

Pork, belly, rolled and boiled 297 

Pork brawn 297 

Pork chops, broiled 298 

Pork chops, fried 298 

Pork cutlets, broiled 298 

Pork, leg of. good as goose 298 

Pork cutlets, fried 299 

Pork, boiled leg of, with pease pudding. 299 

Pork pies 299 

Pork, roast loin of 300 

Pork cake 300 

Pork sausage 300 

Pork and beans 300 

Pressed head 301 

Pig's feet, boiled 301 

Pig's feet cheese 301 

Pig, to roast a sucking 302 

Hams, to cure 303 

Ham pie 302 

Ham boned 303 

Ham baked 303 

Ham and eggs 303 

Ham boiled 303 

Smoked meat on toast 303 

Ham balls 304 

Ham garnished and ornamented 304 

Ham, to glaze 304 

Veal, collared breast of 304 

Veal, boiled breast of 305 

Veal, ragout of breast of 305 

Veal, roasted breast of 30S 

Veal, bubble and squeak of 306 

Veal cake 306 

Veal scallop 306 

Calf's head, boUed 306 

Calf's brains 6. la ravigote 307 

XXTV Poultry. 

Chicken saute a la Marengo 308 

Capon ranaque 309 

Chicken f ricass6ed 310 

Chicken pie 310 

Chicken, frying 311 

Chicken salad 311 

Chicken croquettes 311 

Chicken, baked 312 

Chicken, a nice way to cook 312 

Chicken pudding 312 

Chicken or veal jellied , 312 

Chicken scalloped 313 

Chicken pot-pie 313 

Chicken broiled 313 

Ducks a, la Frangaise 313 



CONSENTS. 



471 



Page 

Ducks k la mode 314 

Ducks, baked 314 

Ducks, braised 314 

Chicken, pressed 314 

Ducks braised with turxiips 315 

Ducks, fricasseed 315 

Ducks, mock 315 

Fowls, minced 315 

Fowls, roast, to carve 316 

Croquettes 316 

Ooose, roast, to carve 317 

Goose, to boil 317 

Goose, roast 317 

Stuffing 318 

Turkey 318 

Turkey, carving of 319 

Turkey or capon, boiled 319 

Turkey, roast (2) 320 

Turkey, boiled 321 

Turkey dressed with oysters 321 

Turkey, deviled 321 

Turkey scallop 322 

Stuffing, plain 322 

Stuffing, apple 322 

Stuffing, potato 323 

Stuffing, chestnut 323 

XXV. Salads. 

Salad, anchovy 324 

Salad, artichoke 324 

Salad, beetroot 324 

Salad, chicken 324 

Salad, chicken 325 

Salad, cabbage 325 

Salad, fish 325 

Salad, hot egg 325 

Salad, endive with winter 326 

Salad, lettuce (2) 326 

Salad, lobster 326 

Salad, game 327 

Salad, orange 327 

Salad, potato 327 

Salad, salmon 328 

Salad, Russian 328 

Salad, summer 828 

Salad, Sidney Smith's dressing for 329 

Salad and vegetables 829 

Salad, water-cress 3^30 

Salad dressing (2) 330 

XXVI. Sauces, Soups and Forcemeats. 

General remarks 831 

Stock S-n 

Soup, bean 334 

Soup, asparagus 3:^4 

Soup, beef 3.35 

Soup, common 335 

Soup, clam 335 

Soup, com 336 

Soup, French vegetable 336 

Soup, egg 336 

Soup, cnicken 336 

Soup, cabbage 337 

Soup, green pea 337 

Soup, gumbo 337 

SouD, gumbo, plain 338 

Soup, lobster 338 

Soup, macaroni (2) 338 

Soup, mock terrapin 3:^9 

Soup, mock turtle 339 



Page 

Soup, mutton 3;J9 

Soup, mushroom 340 

Soup, ox-tail 340 

Soup, oyster 340 

Noodles for soup 340 

Okra gumbo 340 

Soup, potato 341 

Soup, tomato 341 

Southern gumbo fela 341 

Soup, tomato 342 

Soup, turkey 342 

Soup, green turtle 342 

Soup, Soy er's cheap 343 

Soup, Soyer's cheap 344 

Aspic jelly for garnishing 345 

Aspic jelly, stock 345 

Sauce, bechamel 345 

Sauce, anchovy M6 

Sauce, bread 546 

Sauce, brown 346 

Sauce, cucumber 346 

Sauce, Chili 347 

Sauce, caper .347 

Sauce, celery 347 

Sauce, egg 347 

Sauce, fish 347 

Sauce, HoUandaise 347 

Sauce, hot, for meats 348 

Sauce, horse-radish 348 

Sauce, mushroom 348 

Sauce, mint 348 

Sauce, mustard 349 

Mustard, prepared 349 

Mustard, made 349 

Sauce mayonnaise 349 

Sauce maitre d' hotel 350 

Butter maitre d' hotel 350 

Sauce, oyster 350 

Sauce, piquant 350 

Sauce, tomato 351 

Forcemeat, almond 351 

Forcemeat, chestnut 351 

Forcemeat balls 352 

Forcemeat for fish, etc 352 

Forcemeat for game 352 

Forcemeat for turkey 352 

Forcemeat, oyster 353 

XXVII. Furniture. 

Furniture covers 354 

Use of varnish 354 

How to make an ottoman 355 

To render new mahogany like old 355 

To clean furniture 355 

Dirty or stained f lu-niture 356 

To clean paint 356 

To make glue 356 

To revive gilt frames 357 

Magic furniture polish 357 

XXVm. House Pests. 

Camphor a remedy for mice. 358 

Rats, to drive away alive 359 

Rats, how to deal with 359 

To destroy bed bugs, moths, and other 

vermin 359 

To prevent red ants 360 

How to get rid of flies 360 

Mosquitoes 361 



472 



CONTENTS. 



XXIX. Toilet. Page 

Cleaning gloves 362 

Hair receivers 362 

Toilet cushions 362 

Shaving cases 363 

To clean hair-brushes and combs 363 

To clean jewelry 363 

Cologne water (2) 364 

Cold cream 364 

Lip salve 364 

Lavender water 364 

To clean gold chains 364 

To clean gilt jewelrjr 365 

To remove a tight rmg 365 

Grease eraser 365 

Cure for chapped hands 365 

Care of the teeth 365 

Offensive feet 366 

For freckles 366 

Care of the nails 366 

XXX. Kitchen. 

Care of silver 367 

New kettles 367 

To purify water 367 

Washing dishes 368 

Cleaning tinware 368 

The griddle 368 

Coal ashes good to scour with 368 

How to triumph over absent-mindedness S68 

An economical crumb-cloth 369 

Scraping kettles 369 

How to keep lamp chimneys clean 369 

How to start a fire 370 

To make fire kindlings 370 

How to polish a stove easily 370 

How to use the oil stove 370 

Blacking stoves 371 

How to clean mica 371 

To clean knives 372 

To keep a kitchen table clean 372 

XXXI. The Lauitory. 

To clean colored fabrics 373 

Muslin dresses 374 

Laces 375 

To bleach laces, etc 376 

To stiffen linen 376 

To clean cloth 377 

To clean black silk 377 

To clean black merino, etc 378 

To renovate crape 378 

Washing clothes 378 

Washing chintz 379 

To remove spots of wax (2) 379 

To clean carpets 379 

For bleaching cotton cloth 379 

To clean light kid gloves 379 

To clean white silk lace 380 

Starch polish 380 

Washing fluid 380 

Gem washing fluid 381 

Hard soap 381 

Soft soap 381 

How to wash flannels 381 

How to keep black gloves from crocking 382 

To remove scorches 382 

Washing towels 382 

How to do up shirt bosoms . 383 



XXXn. Sew\^q Room. Page, 

Saving thread 384 

Window shades 384 

Scrap bags 384 

Sewing on buttons 385 

Marking handkerchiefs 385 

Table covers 385 

Taking care of stockings 386 

Putting away stockings 38ft 

To preserve old stockings 386 

Home-made work baskets 386 

XXXin. Dyeing, Etc. 

Remarks 388 

SUks— 

Black 388 

Brown— very beautiful 388 

Crimson 388 

Green— very handsome 388 

Light blue 389 

Old gold 389 

Orange 389 

Purple 389- 

Sky blue 389 

YeUow 38» 

Woollen goods — 

Blue— <juick process 390 

Chrome black — best in use 390 

Green 390 

Madder red 390 

Orange 390 

Pink 390 

Scarlet — very fine 391 

Snuft brown— dark 391 

Snuff brown— any shade 391 

Wine color 391 

Crimson 391 

Dove and slate 391 

Purple 391 

Salmon 392 

YeUow— rich 392 

Cotton goods- 
Black 392 

Green 398 

Orange 392 

Red 392 

Sky blue 393 

Yellow 393 

Cotton carpet rags- 
Blue 393 

Yellow 39.^ 

Orange 394 

Green 394 

To remove stains — 

Ink stains (3) 394 

Port wine stains. 394 

To remove mildew 394 

Stains in silk 394 

Acid, tea, wine, and other stains — 894 

Stains caused by scorching 395 

How to restore stained muslin 395 

Stains caused by mildew 396 

Linen 39ft 

Stains on mahogany, etc 396 

Silver and electro-plate stains 396 

To take ink stains from mahogany. . 396 
OU stains 397 



CONTENTS. 



478 



XXXIV. Odds and Ends. Page 

How to protect the dress 398 

Putting up curtains 398 

Window (jardens 398 

To keep boys and girls at home 399 

Lining stair carpets 399 

Putting away woolen goods 399 

Pretty and simple ornaments 399 

How to malie an old Japaut- se umbrella 

useful 400 

To remove paint and putty from win- 
dow glass 400 

To preserve natural flowers 40U 

Eggs, to preserve for w inter use 400 

Charcoal tor flowers 401 

To revive gilt frames 4ul 

Floorcloths 401 

To pot butter for winter use 401 

To prevent rust 4ul 

Paste 401 

French polish iOi 

To preserve steel ornaments from rusit. . 402 

To preserve flowers 40a 

Incombustible dresses 402 

Home-made table syrup.. . . 403 

The chromograph 403 

Lime water 404 

Preserving autumn leaves 405 

Skeleton leaves 406 

To restore frozen plants 406 

For crystallizing grass 406 

Frosting for windows 406 

Black tracing paper 407 

Sympathetic ink 407 

Valuable cement 407 

Diamond cement 407 

Cement for rubber or leather 407 

Weights and measures 408 

Care of tools 408 

Hands and nails, care of 409 

Beds 410 

Pur© water 41 1 

Boots and shoes 412 

Cisterns 4' 3 

Cellars 414 

Fires 415 

Care of wounds 416 

Cleaning coat collars 416 

The feet 417 

Carpets 417 

Cement for kerosene lamp 418 

Floors : 418 

Whitewash 418 

Spontaneous combustion 419 

Cement for broken china 419 

Useful hints 419, 420, 421 

Interest tables 4-J2, 423, 424 



XXXV. The Sick Room. 

Remarks 425 

Panada 499 

Arrowroot jelly 4-29 

Beef tea (3) '. 430 

Chicken panada 4.30 

Egg cream 430 

Soup for invalids 431 

C4ruel 431 

Egj{ gruel... 431 



Faob 

Gruel for infants ... 431 

Beef jelly for invalids 431 

XXXVI. Health Items and 
Grandmother's Medical Keceipts. 

Recipe for cold 433 

Cough mixture 432 

To remove warts 432 

To prevent nails growing into the toe.. . 432 

To prevent the nightmare 433 

The use of a raw egg 433 

How to make a sand bag 433 

Worm remedy 434 

Sleep as a medicine 434 

New cure for wounds 435 

A mustard plaster 435 

A cure for diphtheria • 436 

Bilious headache 436 

A remedy for cold feet 436 

The opium habit . . 436 

Antidotes for poisons 437 

External use of castor oil 438 

Treatment of the supposed drowned 438 

Cure for burns 439 

Grandmother's salve for everything 440 

Cholera remedy 440 

Fig paste for constipation 440 

Cure for chilblains 440 

For canker sore mouth 441 

Cure for corns 441 

Ringworm 441 

Cure for rheumatism and bilious head- 
ache 441 

For felon (2) 141 

Toothache 441 

Cure tor neuralgia 442 

Tincture of iodine for corns 442 

Small-pox remedy 442 

For hydrophobia 443 

Flannels for fomentations 443 

For hoarseness 444 

For sore throat 444 

Healing lotion 444 

To prevent contagion 444 

For toothache 444 

For headache 444 

To stop bleeding ' 445 

To restore from stroke of lightning 445 

Salve for chilblains 445 

To remove discoloi-ations from bruises.. 445 

Cure for wasp stings 445 

Cure for summer complaint 445 

The best deodorizer 445 

XXXVII. Care and Culture of Children. 

Sleep... 446 

Exercise . 
Food. 



451 

454 

Rice Jelly 456 

Arrowroot 457 

]\lilk and bread 457 

Wheaten grits 457 

Hominy and milk 457 

Grahani hasty pudding 458 

Rice flour hasty pudding 4.'i8 

Mush and milk 458 

Condensed milk 458 

Moral influence— obedience 458 



